Glance
by hometownbar
Summary: Katyusha Ukraine drags Ivan Russia to a circus and it changes Ivan's life. Human names used. Ruscan
1. Chapter 1

It started with a glance. The poster was gold and crimson with big fancy black lettering. "Enjoy a night at "Cirque de Terreur!" But the images didn't seem terrifying. At the center was a blonde man, his hand extended, his blue eyes flashing with some sort of dangerous interest behind a pair of rectangle glasses. His garb was Victorian chic, black and red. Around the supposed ringleader were performers in black, with red sashes. One man, who looked so much like a woman, was contorted so his head touched his back. Another man had two swords in each hand, looking ready to juggle. The one in his mouth, though, was tip pointed down. Twins, by the looks of it, walked above the ringleader on a paper thin line on their tip toes. Each bent at a ballerina's pose, they looked like priests in flowing gold trimmed white and red robes. In one corner was a ban with insanely thick eyebrows with a flamboyant blonde man, both had their arms around each other's shoulders but had a knife pointed towards each other's ears. On the last spot was yet another blonde man with a brilliant smile. His black tux had tails and a ruby vest with gold designs. His back was bent so it looked like a backward "C". Huge white bears circled his legs like purring cats. Despite this, he had his hands up in a very "look-at-me" way. His soft blue-violet eyes were so alluring even behind those oval wire rimmed spectacles. One of his bear's pure white coats was marred by the duration of the cirque as well as the location.

As he stared at the poster, his sister had squealed in excitement. "A circus? How fun! Let's go, Ivan!"

Ivan grimaced. He was more of a hermit or shut in. It was a miracle in itself that his older sibling had been able to drag him out for some sun. "Aren't we too old, Katyusha?"

"One is never too old for a circus!"

And so, Ivan went to Cirque de Terreur with his sister. Red was the theme, apparently. Red lights, banners, stands, carnies, it was almost dizzying. There was a Ferris wheel, kiddie rollercoasters, teacups, and a contraption that spun seats around and upside down. It made Ivan nauseous just looking at it. The smells of food were almost too much to take. Salty pretzels, sweet funnel cakes, fruity smoothies. Ivan coughed a lot, but his mouth watered.

"Souvenirs! Handmade souvenirs!"

"Oh! Let's get one, brother." Katyusha grabbed the much larger man's hand and brought him to one of the few stands in a cool blue color. A small blonde with warm brown eyes smiled invitingly. His hands held up little statuettes of animals and important performers.

"Anything you find interesting, folks?"

"Oh, there's so much to choose from." The well-endowed woman checked over the wares.

Ivan scanned the wooden figurines absentmindedly. They had been crafted with the greatest care and were phenomenal. Then the line of panted objects was broken by a large hand. Ivan looked up to see a second blonde man towering next to the other; he was about the same height as Ivan himself. His cold blue eyes, behind narrow, long, rectangle glasses, glared stonily into Ivan's dark violet-reds. A spark of lightning went off between them. Both lifted their lips and growled lowly.

Katyusha and the small salesman broke away from the wares, both had very shaken expressions.

"Brother!"

"Su-san!" it was strange to hear Japanese pass his lips with a Finnish accent.

The Finn pushed Su-san back. Su-san snarled. "L'ke me…"

Katyusha pulled Ivan back. "Sorry…Ivan, please, calm yourself."

Ivan turned away before he lost control. Su-san was just like him. A monster. A beast. It was a mistake to come to the cirque.

"Brother!" the woman tried to wade through the crowd to get to the man but he had gone too far. "Brother, wait!"

Ivan began to halt when he collided with a small body. A really small body.

"O-oh! Sorry, sir!" a little man held up his hand in an apologetic manner. The other had a basket filled with soft linen and three tiny wriggling beings.

The little man's face was hidden by his top hat but Ivan knew a smile came across his lips as he followed the taller man's gaze. "Baby polar bears. Want to pet them?"

"What?"

"It's okay, sir."

"Uh…no, thank you."

The smaller man shrugged. "It's alright. I hope you enjoy the show." Then he strode away, the crowd seemed to part for him. Ivan stared after in awe. He was so graceful and sure in the way he moved; it was mesmerizing.

"Ivan!"

Ivan flinched as Katyusha's hand caught his elbow. He had to smile, even if it was forced, it was for her. "Sorry, sister."

The woman's grey-blue eyes pouted and had a wet sheen. "You've got to be careful, Ivan. That could have ended badly."

The man sighed. "I know." Katyusha, him, and his youngest sibling Natalia, looked out for each other. Basically they had raised on another since their parents abandoned them. Katyusha had taken it upon herself to be a mother and keep her siblings in good health. Ivan felt a twinge of guilt form in his heart. "Sorry." The way he was made his sister's job a very hard one.

"It's fine now, Ivan. Let's just enjoy the circus-oh look!"

Ivan cringed at her sudden outburst.

"It's the big top! The show's about to begin!" and again, the large man was dragged in the woman's wake. The tent was crimson with gold trim and tassels, and nearly as tall as the Ferris wheel. Inside it was packed but still the tent was very roomy. Everyone found seats in the layered stands around a huge ring with a chain-mail curtain around it. The lights dimmed for a long minute when a lone shaft illuminated a man strutting out into the center.

It was the man at the center of the poster. His tux was Victorian chic, all red and black. A cane was held in his gloved hand. A silver skull topped the black bar. The man's dangerous blue eyes searched the crowd; a smile grew on his lips. The ringleader raised his voice. His tone dripped with authority and power.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Greetings from the entire Cirque de Terreur!" he bowed deeply. "I am sure you will enjoy our performances. But there is one thing I must say first. Anyone who is easily frightened, please . . . exit the tent."

People broke out in hushed whispers.

"Many of our acts can be dangerous and frightening to watch, ladies and gentlemen. That is why we have this chain curtain between you and I. Also, with some of our performances: do not make a single sound, do not clap, breathe in whispers. It is much safer that way."

Dangerous blue eyes narrowed even further. That smile grew to something that promised horror. Ivan felt a shudder go down his spine. Katyusha hung onto his arm but didn't leave the tent.

"We can go, sister, if you want."

"N-no . . . I'll be okay."

The ring leader bowed deeply again. "Without further ado, I introduce our magicians, Arthur Kirkland and Lukas Bondevik!"

Two little men walked out into the growing spot light. One had messy blonde hair, insane eyebrows, and a cocky grin. The other was expressionless, with combed hair. One strand stuck out in a curl though. Both had dark capes about their shoulders, reaching their ankles.

Their act was quite astounding. Each spoke in Latin and fairytale creatures appeared from the darkness of their cloaks. The creatures strained against the chain curtain, reaching for the audience. An ogre raised his huge club but was stopped by conjured ghosts. A sort of battle ensued between magicians. Arthur sat upon a glowing white unicorn. Lukas perched on an ugly green troll. People "ooh"ed and "aw"ed as one by one the creatures died in puffs of smoke until only the wizards were left. They crossed their wands and a huge plume of orange and red flew up. It unfurled into a graceful phoenix. The wings strained against the chain and its call was a deafening musical note. The heat it created caused Ivan to loosen the scarf around his throat.

When the phoenix burned out, the chains sizzled and glowed. The air's temperature took such a sudden, drastic dive that many people gasped.

The wizards bowed like their ring leader had and stepped out of the ring. The ring leader came out again as the roar of clapping began to calm.

"Our next performance will have some splashing. Please welcome Michelle!"

The lights went on to show a large fish tank with Great Whites swimming around. Everyone leaned forward as a young girl with silky brown hair stepped onto the narrow glass edge. She dumped a bucket of chum into the tank. The sharks went crazy. People shrieked when the girl jumped into the plume of fish guts and blood. Every one held their breaths urgently searching for Michelle. Five minutes passed and the red was beginning to settle.

"Oh my . . .! Brother, there!" Katyusha pointed in astonishment.

Ivan squinted. There, on the bottom, was Michelle lying on the sand as if asleep. Was she dead? Did she drown? Before people began to panic and call an ambulance, the girl sat up. She smiled and waved. A shark circled her. She grabbed its dorsal fin and was pulled up to a standing position. But she had no legs. A bright shimmering blue mermaid tail had replaced her legs. Gasps rang out in the crowd.

Michelle swam around easily. She circled all the sharks and kissed each on the nose. A few Great Whites looked like they were playing with her in a friendly manner. Then one large shark brought her to the surface. She sat on the edge and allowed people to see her fin split into two slender legs again. She jumped off the fifteen foot tank into the ring leader's arms. The audience gave her a standing ovation.

"Thank you!" she yelled and waved at the crowd.

The man set her down gently. "Thank you, Chelles. That was great." He turned back to the crowd as the lights went dim again and was in the spot light.

Ivan found himself enjoying the performances. These people were strange and kept him on the edge of his seat. The contortionists Wang Yao and Im Yong Soo bent in the most unbelievable ways on high places that weren't stable or safe. They climbed the chain curtain all the way to the top using only their mouths and feet, and bending their bodies in odd angles.

The Vargas brothers walked the tight rope around each other, reciting religious verses in Italian. They jumped around too but didn't even wobble.

A strong man, by the name of Ludwig, showed off his strength by juggling famously heavy objects like elephants and truck engines with ease. He was supernaturally strong!

A pair of blonde siblings, Vash and Lili, brandished guns. Vash actually ate the bullets his little sister shot into his mouth. Then he chewed and spat out a flower for Lili. Lili did the same but spat out a little dog sculpture for Vash.

Music was played next by Roderich and Gilbert, the former at piano, the latter at a violin. Through their melody, Ivan saw creatures being made out of nothing. They acted accordingly to the notes. Fierce when the beat was aggressive, and docile when calm.

Then came something Ivan didn't so much enjoy. The ring leader warned the crowd to be silent during the next performance. "If you draw attention to yourselves, you might just cost yourselves your lives. This curtain won't be able to hold them back."

The lights dimmed again but to a strange red hue. People fidgeted as three men came out. The first one was the smallest, had silvery hair with a puffin on his shoulder. He led two taller blondes to center stage. One had his hair spiked up and was grinning excitedly; the second was glaring and was more stoic. The silver haired one took the stoic one's glasses. He was Su-san, from the stand, Ivan realized.

Ivan knew already what was going to happen. He clenched his eyes shut and held his ears with his hands. Katyusha pulled her brother's face into her chest to help.

The silvery haired one got up on a swing and was raised to a safe height above the blondes. He held out an opal talisman. It shined oddly in the red light. The spiky haired one turned to the crowd. "Remember! Stay quiet! We can't guarantee your safety." The other only nodded silently.

The silvery haired on began to chant in some dead language. The two bigger men convulsed. They were brought to their knees, howling and screaming in pain. Their clothes ripped, their bodies morphed and grew hair. Bones cracked and reshaped themselves into that of beasts. Their faces elongate, fangs grew long. Once done, the men were huge animals with dark fur and swishing tails. They moved with unearthly grace and power, their eyes had slits for pupils. They were werewolves. Full werewolves; savage and bloodthirsty.

People gasped quietly, remembering the warning from before.

The wolves' eyes swept across the crowd hungrily. But the man above them held their attention when he whistled. He made them do certain tricks like common house pets for a while. Then he made them battle. Fur flew, roars and yelps filled the tent, and even blood splattered the hair layered ground. Finally, the man stopped the beasts.

His swing shuddered.

By the look on his face, that wasn't supposed to happen. He quickly tried to turn the beasts back to men but couldn't finish the spell. The swing broke and he plummeted to the earth.

People screamed.

The wolves howled as they ripped through the chainlike a knife through butter. The other carnies had seen this coming the moment the tamer's swing shuddered. They had started protecting the crowd. The magicians made shield and used their creatures to intimidate the werewolves back behind the curtain. Ludwig and a swordsman blocked the exits. A woman brandishing a frying pan accompanied them. Vash and Lili loaded tranquilizers, waiting for the "go" from their ring leader.

The commotion caused Ivan to look up. Katyusha was trembling. It was his turn to protect her. The one with black fur that spiked up everywhere had broken through Lukas' shield and was racing through the crowd. He didn't chomp on anyone; his nose had caught a scent. Ivan's scent.

By the time indigo eyes were level with his violet ones, Ivan had stood up. The beast halted mere inches from him, snarling. The man growled in response. It was animalistic in nature and sound. The wolf was about to chomp on him when the magician Lukas pulled a chain around his throat. The beast choked helplessly and was dragged back into the chained circle by the small man.

Su-san was already there, his head rested in the Finnish salesman's lap serenely. The man with the amulet was unharmed but a little shaky. He quickly turned them back into men before anything else could happen.

The ring leader took center stage again. "Well . . . that happened. I thought you were warned several times, people, to be quiet. It seems our net will need to be repaired once again," he shook his head in frustration. "And we had more acts. If any of you want to see the entire performance, please come back tomorrow. Thank you though, for staying this long, ladies and gentleman."

People were filed out. Everyone was shaken and awed. Katyusha clung to Ivan's arm. She was silent and trembling. Ivan knew that a circus was a bad idea! He just KNEW it!

"Excuse me."

The pair halted just outside the red tent. Their breath was fogging in the late autumn air.

A clean cut Japanese man bowed. "Sorry to disturb you, sir and ma'am, but ring leader Alfred wishes to meet you, sir."

Ivan blinked. "Uh . . . I-I have to get my sister home, I can't."

"But, sir . . ."

"Go on, brother, I'll wait at the Ferris wheel for you." Katyusha detached herself from her younger sibling.

Ivan's eyes widened. _'No! No! I don't want to go to the ring leader! I used you as an excuse!' _"Oh . . . okay."

The Japanese man nodded to Katyusha as she left then waved for the taller Russian to follow. He led Ivan to a cluster of Trailers all painted quite colorfully in dizzying hues and designs.

"Alfred-san, I brought him."

The ring leader turned away from the wizard Arthur, his dangerous blue eyes quickly spotted Ivan. "Hi, dude! Glad ya came! Thanks, Kiku."

What happened to that serious gentlemanly speech? He sounded like a wannabe punk!

"Privet . . ."

"Let's get down to business, shall we? I know that you know that I know what you are."

Ivan nodded slightly after processing the man's quick dialogue. "Kind of figured,"

"You really saved a lot of skins! Kudos, dude. But Berwald told me you smell wild and don't have much control."

Who was Berwald? And about control, the show showed soooooo much of it. "So?"

"We have a secure environment where you can learn to control your inner beast!" Alfred was like a kid in a candy shop.

Ivan was taken aback. "Are you suggesting. . ."

"Duh! Dude, I want you to join Cirque de Terreur!"


	2. Chapter 2

Katyusha shivered as she waited for her little brother. She hoped he was doing okay with that Japanese gentleman. Ivan's temper had a short fuse, she knew all too well. Even if he protected her whenever he could, Ivan scared Katyusha. Who wouldn't be scared when your kin was a beast just under the skin? Sure, that beast had gotten their little family out of trouble time and time again, but it was hard to control. That's why Ivan chose a life of solitude after Natalia grew up. He could keep to himself and reduce the damage he could cause. But he was so lonely. Katyusha had dragged him out from his home to keep him company . . . to make him happy. Maybe coming to Cirque de Terreur wasn't the best idea.

Katyusha sighed.

"You alright, miss?"

She jumped a little. A man with long brunette hair stared worriedly at her. "O-oh! Y-Yes, I'm okay."

"You looked like you were about to cry."

Katyusha touched her eyes. They were wet. "Oh!"

"Shaken up by the big top performance?"

"A little," The woman admitted shyly.

The man smirked. "I'm Toris. I work the Ferris wheel."

"I'm Katyusha, I'm an interior designer."

"I've never heard that name before. It's exotic." Toris laughed in a good natured manner. "Where's it from?"

"Ukraine."

"Interesting."

"Where's yours from?"

"Lithuania."

"Katyusha," Toris jumped back seeing Ivan. The man seemed to not notice the carnie or how his sister was making small talk to him.

"Brother! What did the ring leader want with you?" the well-endowed woman asked.

Ivan found the ground very interesting at the moment. "He wants me to join the cirque."

"Why?"

"To learn control."

"Oh,"

A long silence lapsed over the siblings. Toris tried to busy himself with letting passengers off is Ferris wheel but what the tall Russian said to break the quiet made him nearly jump out of his shoes in shock. He stopped the ride a bit too harshly and people swung wildly.

"I accepted his offer."

"Y-you did?" Katyusha was just as shocked as Toris.

"Da," Ivan smiled. "I can learn to get my monster under control and I'll be traveling too, so I'll be exposed to all sorts of people, like you want me to be. I thing this would be a good move for me."

Katyusha forced a smile. She was happy for her little brother, she really was but she was sad that she wouldn't be able to see him often. "I think so, too. Let's go home. I'll help you pack."

Ivan let his sister's arm curl into his. He escorted her to the car they had driven to get to the cirque. Toris slumped against his controls. He was not too excited to have another big scary guy in the cirque. And another werewolf to boot! Maybe he should quit.

Ivan didn't' say goodbye to his younger sister, Natalia. She had a strange-creepy-way of interacting with him on a normal day to day basis. He didn't want to endure a goodbye of this magnitude with her. Though, he did give Katyusha a proper farewell; a hug, a kiss, and a few, sweet, parting words. She cried but smile the whole time. He promised to write and/or send postcards and souvenirs.

Cirque de Terreur looked so different in the day-time than in the night. The red color didn't' seem as dizzying, and the ground was so much more clean. People still crowed everything but didn't hinder him as she made his way towards the trailer yard. No one seemed to notice his backpack full of possessions.

"Gently now . . .they're only a few days old."

Ivan felt himself stop hearing a quiet kind voice. He searched for the speaker.

"See? She's very soft."

A crowd of children giggled as they scrambled away from a crouched man. He waved friendlily at the parents before standing back up.

He wore a tux with a red vest adorned in gold. The coat tails reminded Ivan of a penguin. His top hat had a crimson ribbon, and his red bull whip had an ebony handle. His features were similar to the ring leader's but they were softer and kinder. Big lavender eyes speckled with bright blue seemed to smile, his nose was petite making him look a little effeminate, and his grinning lips were pink and soft. Well to Ivan they looked soft . . . his blonde hair was shining delicately in gentle waves, and one curl bounced in front of his face stubbornly. The picture of him on the poster did not do him justice.

"Oh! It's you again!"

Ivan jumped. The blonde waved him over.

"Hi! Nice to meet you properly, I heard that you're joining the cirque?" his voice was just barely above a whisper. "My name is-"

"Hey, Mattie! You met Ivan, already!" Alfred bounced out of nowhere. Ivan couldn't help noticing how the effeminate blonde wilted a little.

"Good morning, Alfred."

"So, Ivan, I checked over the living arrangements and all the trailers are full accept my little brother's" the boisterous man jabbed a thumb to the quiet one. "You don't mind bunking with him, do ya, dude?"

Ivan opened his mouth to say he did mind. It wasn't common for him to accidentally lose control when having nightmares-which was often- but he didn't want to test his luck. Maybe a cage would suit him better?

"It's settled then! Mattie, Ivan! You're roommates!"

Ivan was about to protest when Alfred suddenly disappeared into the crowd. Already he didn't much are for that man.

"Um . . ." Mattie's fidgeting caught the Russian's attention again. "Do . . . should I show you to my-er our house?"

"I guess . . ." trailers were carnie houses?

"One moment, then." The man stooped to pick up a crate full of wriggling cubs, bear cubs by the looks of it. Mattie brought them to a cage that had been hidden behind a velvet curtain. The cage held the cubs' huge, powerful mother. "There. This way, Mister Ivan."

"Ivan's fine."

"Oh . . . then call my Matthew."

Matthew's trailer had been painted to show a snowy desert. Bears roamed the spindly trees around the corners. It actually was beautiful. Inside was a small but cozy and organized. There was a lot of cherry wood; cherry wood bookshelves, cherry wood benches, cherry wood cabinets, closet and bathroom door. And warm bright fabrics lightened up the richly colored space. One end, to the right, had the living space; booth with a table and two seats that could hold up to four people, a small television, a kitchenette and a full sized steel refrigerator. There was also a bench under a painting of a world map. A window brightened up the table. To the left were the beds and a bathroom. The beds were on opposite sides and tucked under some shelves. The one on the left was neatly made with a white comforter with a red maple leaf and matching pillows. Books and souvenirs filled the glass covered cherry wood shelves. Clothes must have been in the tiny closet at the foot of the narrow bed. The one on the right had to have been Ivan's. It was unmade and bare. The shelves and cabinets around it were empty.

"Make yourself at home. Now that, well, this place is your home . . ." Matthew rambled. "Did you bring a blanket? I have spares if you didn't."

"I brought one." Ivan assured the carnie with a smirk.

"Oh, good. It gets cold at night in here, even in the summer. The heater sucks, it turns on by itself, blasting cold air sometimes, and the hot air . . . well, it doesn't . . . make hot air."

Ivan ambled to his bed, ready to make it his. Good thing he had brought sheets, too.

"Before I forget . . . Everyone has to turn in before one in the morning, there is no set waking hour therefore no breakfast bell or lunch bell. But at eight thirty report to the house that is covered with music notes for dinner." Matthew opened the door to the trailer letting in cool, crisp autumn air. He gave the larger man a brilliant smile. "If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

Ivan nodded in understanding before flashing a small grin of appreciation. Matthew blushed and widened his smile. Then he left the trailer. The large man watched through the sheer curtains, as he strutted back to the fair grounds. Matthew seemed nice enough, shy that's for sure, and babbles when nervous, but nice. The new carnie felt like he had gotten lucky with Matthew as a roommate. Although, Ivan didn't trust himself to keep his cool around him. If the beast within got out for even a few minutes, the small effeminate man would . . .

Ivan shuddered. What a horrible thought.

_Thank you for reading! Please comment! _

_I am sorry in advance if I get ramble-y. I promise this story will be more than just conversations!_


	3. Chapter 3

Ivan had wondered around all day with nothing to do, and no one approached him to give him a he decided to turn in without dinner. Matthew's (and now his) "house" was a place he was mildly comfortable with already. He guessed it was that his cent was already on his belongings. Damn . . . he's already thinking like a wolf, must be near a full moon.

Werewolves don't just change on a full moon. The full moon is the only time when they can't keep themselves from changing. It makes them go beast with or without consent.

Ivan was going through his mental calendar and possible places he could seclude himself when noises from outside caught his attention. Sounded like Matthew and Alfred.

"Damn it, Mattie, tell me what's wrong."

"You know full well, Alfred!"

"The curtain broke because Arthur's and Lukas' phoenix weakened the metal and Gil's and Roderich's music monsters made a tear-"

"I'm not angry about that. It's just you said that it would take hours to mend-Ludwig could do it in fifteen minutes. And you're always doing this, making it impossible for the rest of us to go on stage."

"It's called Cirque de Terreur, bro. most of the other performances don't freak people out."

"That's not true! Papa cuts himself up like a sausage and lives, Gilbert's trained birds are big enough to eat a child when they're big, my bears are known for their ferocity, and Kiku eats swords." Matthew argued, his voice was unnaturally harsh.

"I'm the ring leader, _little brother_, what I say-goes."

The crunch of gravel signaled Alfred had left. Matthew came in the door a few moments later. He slumped against the door; his large eyes were on the verge of tears. "Stupid . . . idiot . . . egocentric jerk . . ."

He wiped his eyes and looked up. "Oh! I-Ivan. I f-forgot you were assigned here. You heard all that didn't you? Sorry . . ."

Ivan didn't know what to do. He and his sisters never argued with one another. They were always in the same boat and whatever one did was for the good of the others. Never had he been in a situation where siblings fight.

"Do you want to take a shower first?" Matthew asked as he shed his coat.

"No, you go ahead. I'll take one in the morning."

As if he had said some inside joke, the blonde snickered. "Suit yourself."

"What?" Ivan frowned.

"Nothing, nothing."

…

Ivan couldn't sleep. It was strange for him to hear another person's breathing in the same room. For years he hadn't been in another human being's presence when trying to sleep.

He was restless.

Even if the clocks said it was two hours past curfew, Ivan pulled on his boots and jacket and left the "house".

The early morning air was biting cold but nothing bad. It was sort of creepy with all the lights off and nothing but the wind howling through the stands and rides. Ivan's boots crunched on old sticks that once held candy. The moon taunted him. It was almost full. Damn celestial body.

"Yo! Don't you know the cirque is closed?"

Ivan turned to come face to face with the palest man he had ever seen. He remembered him as Gilbert who had played the violin. A tiny, bright yellow bird snuggled into his silvery hair.

"I live here now."

"Oh . . . you're the new guy the ring leader has been blabbering about." A mischievous grin spread across his pale face. "Say, you look like the type who enjoys a drink."

Ivan felt a smile tug at his lips.

Gilbert escorted Ivan to a trailer that had been painted all black but with a white outlined cross. Next to it was a bright yellow and pink trailer with pasta and tomatoes all over. Inside the black "house" it was more chrome and black painted wood. Ludwig, the strong man, sat with Kiku and one of the Vargas brothers at the table.

"Yo, West! I brought the newest member over for drinks!"

Ludwig sighed. "You got drunk yesterday, bruder. I think you have a problem."

"I don't have a problem, West. You're just stiff."

"Ve~ . . . you could loosen up a bit, Doitsu."

"See? Feli agrees with me." Gilbert went to the cabinet for some booze.

Kiku smiled. "I am glad you are using some of my native language, Feliciano-kun, but 'doitsu' means Germany in Japanese."

"I know, Kiku. I like how it sounds and Luddie is from Germany so I call him that." The ditzy Italian beamed at his logic.

Ludwig stood up to shake Ivan's hand. "Guten Tag."

"Privet."

"Ve~. You're taller than Doitsu!" Feliciano giggled. What a weird sound he made, "ve".

"I bring booze! Praise the awesomeness that is me." Gilbert set down several tall bottles of different kinds of alcohol on the table with several tall glass cups. Ivan smiled. They had vodka!

"So . . . vat is your skill?" Ludwig sparked the conversation. He took a swig of beer.

Ivan's mood turned a bit sour. He downed his glass of vodka. "It's not necessarily a skill."

Feliciano sniffed Ludwig's alcohol then pulled away with a scrunched up face. Kiku silently sipped his clear drink; his dull brown eyes watched the large Russian intently. It looked like he was reading the mood.

"Ludwig-san, how did your repairs go on the chain curtain?" Ivan was grateful for the change in subject.

"Really vell. Didn't take more than fifteen or twenty minutes."

"Why'd you interrupt, Kiku?" Gilbert butted in. "Not awesome. And don't you like being polite?"

The swordsman grew embarrassed. "H-hai, but . . ."

"C'mon, dude. Tell us why you're in the cirque."

All eyes turned back to Ivan. He fidgeted. No escaping now. Taking another drink of liquid confidence he stared at the chrome table. "I'm a . . . werewolf." The silence that followed was almost suffocating. Ivan felt the burn of four pairs of eyes on him.

"That all?" Gilbert snickered. "Kesesese~"

"What?" Ivan lifted his eyes, genuinely surprised.

"Ve~! You're just like Berwald and Matthias!" Feliciano gave a dopey grin and turned to Kiku. Kiku smiled too, though didn't look like a dope.

Ludwig nodded with a soft grunt.

Ivan was astounded. They didn't think of him as a monster. Well he was in a cirque that had two others like him, what did he expect? Even so, it lifted a weight from his shoulders.

…

Matthew woke up early, as always. He stretched, yawned and went to the bathroom as he normally did. Only when he began frying up his favorite food-pancakes- did he notice he had company. He remembered Ivan in his own bed before falling victim to sleep but how in the world did that giant man end up on the seat below the map with a bottle of Grey Goose vodka?

Matthew scrunched up his nose at the sharp stench of alcohol emanating from his roommate. Great, he got a drinker. For once in his life, and the Canadian know someone, who he interacts with on a day to day basis, who doesn't drink himself into a stupor?

Despite this, Matthew found himself staring at Ivan with not distaste but interest. Ivan was a massive man, it was quite hilarious to see him scrunched into a narrow seat only about five feet long. He was heavily muscled and had long limbs with big hand and feet. His showing skin looked like a battlefield with all those scars. Those broad shoulders and expansive chest had to scrunch to cradle Ivan's head. The messy but soft looking locks were an ashy-beige-blonde. Quite a strange hue. His nose was very prominent but didn't take away from his fine, almost childlike, features. His lips and neck were covered by that old, but well taken care of white scarf. But Matthew remembered the strong jaw-line hidden beneath.

Dare Mattie say the Russian was handsome?

Dare he shall.

Ivan stirred. He brought his fist up to rub his eye. Although that fist had the open bottle of vodka in its grasp. The drink splashed over his face effectively waking him up with a shocked yelp. He bolted upright, his eyes wide. When his brain registered the surroundings he relaxed a bit. His empty hand cradled his head, pain and confusion was visible in his violet-red eyes.

Matthew turned away from his golden disks. "Feeling okay, Ivan?"

Despite the smaller man's tiny, whispery voice, a stake was driven though the larger's skull. He groaned, feeling like he needed to puke. "No, Mat- . . . Matth- . . ." he tried to pronounce his roommate's name but nothing sounded right until "Matvey," he found the Russian variation.

Matthew chuckled softly. He had so many nicknames it was almost funny. He figured it was easier to remember a pet name than the real one. He was always forgotten.

Ivan got up shakily and headed to the bathroom for a shower, no doubt. He had to pass Matthew on his way. The little blonde paled a little but when he noticed the height difference. Damn . . .

Matthew was dining on his pancakes with maple syrup when Ivan came back out. His hair was sopping wet and he wore a wife beater, sweatpants and his scarf. He collapsed on his own bed with a long drawn out groan that sounded suspiciously like "Never again".

Oh . . . Matthew smirked. Only one man caused others to say that after a night of drinking. "Gilbert invited you for drinks, eh?'

". . . Da . . ." Ivan mumbled around his pillow.

"Contest?"

"Da . . ."

"Who won?"

". . . Don't remember,"

Outside there was a muffled shout. "Nein! I didn't! I'm awesome! I always win!"

Matthew once again smirked. Ivan had won. That was a first. No one ever beat the albino. Impressive. "Uh . . . Ivan. Today the cirque is packing up to move again. You have to get up."

Ivan didn't stir. "No . . ."

"I know hangovers aren't pleasant but you need to lend a hand. You're part of the cirque now."

". . . No."

Matthew frowned. So stubborn! But the little man was also quite stubborn. "I can stop the hangover~."

Ivan raised his head. His heavy violet-red eyes looked him up and down. "How?"

"Sit at the table and I'll give it to you."

Thinking the cure was an aspirin or some other pain killer, the big man heaved himself up and lumbered to the table. Why did the curtains have to be drawn at the dining area? Damn sun.

"Here you are."

A plate of golden circles was placed in front of him. They smelled like heaven but Ivan's stomach squirmed. How was this supposed to help him?

"Arthur used to drink . . . a lot. So did Papa and Maman . . ."Matthew paused. Melancholy washed over him for a moment. But he pushed it aside quickly. "So I cared for Alfred and them. After a few tries I found this helps hangovers. Not completely but you'll feel worlds better."

Ivan glanced up to the blonde. "What's in it?"

"Secret. And a good chef never reveals his secrets."

Slightly untrusting of the food and its abilities-not to mention the chef- Ivan cut out a little portion and popped it in his mouth. The sweet taste flooded his mouth. It cleansed his palette of the sharp taste of vodka. And the delightful substance didn't sit like a rock in his gut. His queasy stomach actually accepted the intrusion. Genuinely surprised, Ivan glanced up to Matthew. He was smiling with smug pride.

After finishing half his plate, Ivan noticed the throbbing in his head had lessened and was a bit more bearable. What sorcery was this?

"This is . . . amazing, Matvey!"

Matthew blushed. "G-glad you like it."

….

Ivan didn't mind packing up full stands at a time. He didn't mind all the bustling carnies around him as they packed up as well. Even if he didn't favor Alfred, he was fine with taking orders from him. While Ivan had been out cold, the autumn weather created perfect conditions for a white blanket. And Ivan hated it. Snow. It was the bane of his existence. Cold and lifeless, just like death. And the weather yielded much of it. To most it was knee high, even if Ivan was much taller than a normal person, he grimaced and cringed with every step. And more was floating down oh so innocently from the grey sky.

By the time the sun set, the once bright area that had housed Cirque de Terreur was nothing but a dark empty lot with slushy uneven mounds of snow. The trailer yard was bustling and bright, filled with the vim and vigor that once belonged to the dark, eerie lot.

The bell, if you can call two pans being smashed together a bell, rang and everyone crowded around the "house" covered in violet music notes. A woman in a green dress, white apron and tall boots clapped her large frying pans together again. "Dinner! Come and get it before it's all gone!"

Ivan expected himself to eat alone. He usually did. But Gilbert popped out of nowhere and demanded that he sit with the albino and his brother. Ivan warmed a little on the inside.


	4. BONUS

_**Thank you all for reading Glance. It really means a lot. So, I'm giving you all a bonus chapter~! I was asked about the FACE family so this came to being. I know they're young here but that's on purpose. They're not supposed to be completely ready to be parents. Please bear with the time skips, too.**_

_**I named the woman Duina after a real person because I couldn't find a proper Hetalia woman who would fit the character. The real Duina was considered the queen of the circus and one of the greatest woman trapeze artists. Major respect for the woman. **_

_**Last note, I swear. Alejandro is the name I used for Cuba. **_

…_**.**_

Cirque de Terreur used to be a stationary entertainment spot. People far and wide flock to it all year around. One of the most popular acts was the Trapeze. An elegant blonde woman sailed through the air alone. The distance between swings looked too great but she always made it perfectly.

"Another round of applause for Duina!"

Duina flipped back onto her platform. She waved to the thunderous crowd like a beauty queen.

After the show a young man sporting impressive eyebrows approached her with a loving smile. "Hello there, beautiful." He purred in a heavy British accent.

"Arthur! Aren't you on next?" Duina exclaimed.

"Lukas is taking care of it. He may just be a toddler but he's bloody brilliant at magic! People will be more amazed if it's just him."

"Alejandro will get angry, love." The young woman worried.

"Let that wanker blow his cap. He's just a ring leader." He pulled out a bouquet of wildflowers from thin air in a corny way.

"He's our boss." She insisted but smiled.

Arthur kissed her temple. "Not even God Himself can keep me away from you."

Duina blushed. "A simple 'I love you' would suffice, dear. And . . . I love you, too." She leaned forward and captured Arthur's lips with her own.

Nine months later, Duina bore Arthur a strong, handsome baby boy. His eyes were blue, his hair golden blonde with a cowlick like his mother. He was a boisterous and demanding child.

"Bloody hell . . . stop crying, Alfred . . . It's only food." Arthur looked worse for wear. He was only seventeen; not a proper age to be a father. Even if he loved his son and beloved girlfriend, he wasn't cut out for this.

"He doesn't like your cooking." Duina came into the kitchen. She looked far better than her boyfriend. In fact she did little to care for Alfred after a month of his birth. That's a seventeen year old girl for you. "Give him this." She popped a fry into Alfred's open maw.

"These sweet peas are from a jar of baby food." Arthur argued. "And you can't just give a year old child junk food like that! He'll get fat!"

Duina shrugged. "It's the only thing that shuts him up. See?"

Indeed, Alfred had stopped wailing to suck the salty fried potato slice. His cheeks were flushed with joy. His young father had had just about enough. "That's it." He growled and brushed by Duina. He went through the drawers for several changes of clothes for him and his son. He stuffed the wadded cloth haphazardly in a bag.

"What are you doing, Arthur?"

"You know how my parents wanted to meet Alfred? Well, I'm going to take him to see them."

"They're in London!" Duina exclaimed angrily.

"Bloody brilliant, isn't it? You don't give a bloody shit about our baby. He needs to be raised in a better environment." The young wizard picked up his child and made for the front door.

"You're taking Alfred away from me?" the young woman was red with anger.

"Only until you shape up and realize you have to be a proper mother!" Arthur slammed the door.

Before Duina came storming after, he had taken out his wand and teleported to his parents' front step. Alfred, having finished his cold fry, patted his father's cheeks, finding they were wet. He cooed at the older male's distress.

Arthur worked up a smile. "Let's hope time away from you makes Mummy's heart grow fonder. She needs to be a better Mummy for you. Isn't that right?"

Alfred squealed excitedly.

The teen sighed. The baby was only reacting to the animated baby talk. Wishful thinking, Arthur wilted even more, to think a child his age would understand.

"Iggy?" the door opened to reveal a couple in their late thirties or early forties.

Arthur smiled. "Good morning, Mum, Dad."

"Is that Alfred?" the wizard's mother came out.

Alfred reached for her curly hair; he would love to tug it. The older woman scooped him up, cooed lovingly, and showered the infant with kisses.

Arthur's father looked around. "Where's that girl you told us about in the letters, Iggy?"

Arthur looked down. Tears of frustration pooled in his green eyes. "She didn't come."

An arm coiled around the teen's shaking shoulders. His father pulled him into an understanding hug. His mother watched from a distance. She sighed, sadly looking at her adorable grandson who beamed at her.

"Mum?" Arthur muttered.

"Yes, dear?"

"Careful with Alfred. He'll pull out all your hair when he gets the chance."

The woman was skeptical until a strong tiny fist found one of her blonde curls. "Ouch! Bloody hell!"

"Told you."

…..

Duina paced around the trailer. Her boyfriend just took her baby away from her. That bastard! She was a great mother; she just also had a life other than Alfred. She halted. Maybe this wasn't a bad thing. She had more time to dedicate to her social life. Yeah. When Alfred was around Arthur nagged her into giving up girls night with friends, shopping, and even a few performances.

Duina smiled. She was free again!

The first thing she did was gather up her friends, claiming they were long overdue for a night on the town.

Duina loved the freedom she had now. Everything seemed to have its sparkle back. The lights were blinding, the music was louder, and the available men were all the more attractive . . . like that young man with shoulder length wavy golden hair and alluring sapphire eyes leering at her from the bar. She smiled at him and he sauntered over. A stubby beard lined his angular jaw. "Bonjour, ma chérie."

Duina's friends giggled to themselves. Duina, herself, blushed. "I don't know much French, sir," she gave him a winning smile. "Maybe you could teach me?"

The man's grin widened. "Of course, mon petite mademoiselle."

….

"Ah! Zat was a wonderful evening, ma chérie!"

"Oh, Francis, you are so delightful. Thank you for dinner."

The man smiled softly down on Duina. "It was my pleasure. Would it be too much to ask to walk you home?"

"No, not at all," Duina laced her arm into Francis'. "Don't be alarmed when you see my place though."

"Why would I be?"

"Well, it is."

Francis' blue eyes widened. "Y-you live in cirque de Terreur?"

"Yes."

"What a relief!"

"W-what?"

The Frenchman beamed at her. "You won't be frightened by my ability."

Duina's eyebrows shot up. "What's your talent?"

"Watch." Francis let his date go in favor of retrieving a pocket knife from his coat pocket. He smiled as he cut right through his left forefinger. Blood sluggishly leaked out of the two gaping wounds, but Francis only smiled as if not in pain.

"FRANCIS!" Duina yelped. "W-why'd you-"

"Calm down, ma chérie. Look." Francis took his dead finger and placed it back in its proper place. After a moment, it could move again as if nothing had happened.

The young woman touched the ring of drying blood. There wasn't even a seam where the knife had sliced the flesh. "Wow . . . this is amazing!"

"I can do my arms and legs, too. I 'aven't tried my 'ead yet. Little scared, y'know?"

Duina clapped her hands together. "You should join the cirque! Alejandro will take you in."

"Who's . . .?"

"He's the ringleader, don't get jealous."

"Oh! Maybe I will join."

Duina smiled. She had just about forgotten about her wizard boyfriend Arthur and her little baby Alfred. She even found herself wishing they'd never come back.

…

Arthur was sipping tea with his son on his lap munching on a crumbly cookie. The boy was nearly two years old now. His attitude had not changed since he came to London and he asked about his mother a lot.

"Mommy?" Alfred asked suddenly.

"She's in America, Alfred. We'll see her soon."

Although, the young wizard had a sinking feeling. It had been nearly a year since he left with his son to live with his parents for a while. Initially he only wanted to stay for a few weeks but seeing as Duina never wrote or called begging for them to come back, their stay grew longer and longer. It was not that Arthur didn't want to see his beloved; he just wanted her to learn a lesson and take responsibility. Arthur ached inside every day without Duina. Now it was to the point where it was becoming unbearable.

"Iggy, would you like a scone?" Alfred's grandmother called from the kitchen.

"Yes, please. That would be delightful." Arthur answered.

"Gama!" Alfred cried happily. His young tongue couldn't pronounce words too well yet, but it was cute. "Pop-Pop!"

Arthur's mother and father strolled onto the porch with more tea-time supplies. They smiled at their grandson.

"Hello there, dear," Gama beamed warmly.

"Is there something on your mind, lad?" Pop-Pop touched his son's shoulder.

Arthur sighed. "Duina . . ."

The older couple wilted. They hated seeing their son so distraught about a woman. Especially if that woman wasn't worth pining over. "Maybe . . ." his mother began. "You should go see her . . .? For closure."

"I know what you're thinking, Mum. I should cut off all ties with Duina but Alfred is our _son_ . . ."

"Arthur." Pop-Pop said firmly but calmly. "It's high time you realize that girl is no good. She hasn't tried contacting you. She doesn't care."

Arthur flinched violently. His parents had been good about not trash talking his girlfriend since he came to them but now it was all out. "S-she . . . Duina does care!"

"Don't raise your voice to me." Pop-Pop narrowed his blue eyes, his bushy brows knitted together.

"Don't bloody talk about Duina like that, then." Tears streaked Arthur's anger and anguish flushed cheeks.

"Daddy?"

Arthur started. Alfred's big blue eyes stared at him, questioning him. The young father let his muscles relax again. "Sorry, Alfred."

"Iggy . . ." Gama touched her son's arm. "Do what you think is best." After a moment of hesitation, Pop-Pop nodded in agreement.

Arthur searched both their faces then his young son's. He didn't know what was best.

…

"Maman! Up, Maman!" a tiny three year old reached for Duina as she came back inside their small trailer. Duina looked down in disgust at her little son. This one was Francis'. Just as her life had freedom she got saddled with another child. Matthew was a quieter child than Alfred was. He had lavender-blue eyes, like her own, and Francis' wavy golden hair.

"Not now, honey. Maman's very tired and has a headache." Duina stumbled past her second son. Her hangover got even worse once she saw all the colorful baby toys. She collapsed on the bed with a passed out Frenchman.

Matthew was rejected. He was almost always pushed aside by his mother. It hurt him. He tried so hard to coax out smiles of love from the woman but always failed.

Quietly, the child went to the kitchen. He was hungry and knew his parents wouldn't wake up to feed him. Plus he wanted to let his mother sleep. Matthew, despite his age, was quite a cook already. He was used to his parents not paying attention to him.

Pancakes were simple enough to make.

Matthew got a stool to get a big bowl, eggs, water, and pancake mix. As he stirred the mix he turned on the stove and put some butter on a skillet. Then he used a spoon and made shapeless blobs on the skillet. Matthew could even flip the flat cakes with a spatula. Once he had a good mound of fried cakes he turned off the stove, got some maple syrup, and sat at the table.

There was a groan from the adults' bed and the man shook himself free from the woman. He staggered towards his little son. "Hey, mon cher. Did you make zese on your own?" Francis plopped down in the seat opposite of Matthew.

Matthew nodded proudly.

"Zey look yummy, but you should 'ave woke me up. You could 'ave burned yourself."

"Nu-uh," Matthew shook his head. This was nearly a daily occurrence for him. "Want some, Papa?"

Francis smiled. "Can I?"

"Oui!"

The two shared the sticky stack of pancakes. Matthew loved his father. The man took care of him whereas his own mother rarely held him.

…

"We're going to see Mommy again, Daddy?" Alfred asked excitedly.

"Yes, lad, we are."

"Be careful." Arthur's mother pleaded as she handed them each a backpack of their belongings.

"Remember, you can always come back." Arthur's father reminded.

Arthur nodded as he took Alfred's hand and his wand. Alfred waved goodbye animatedly. "Bye-bye, Granma, Pop-Pop!"

And with a soft whoosh the two disappeared from the lush garden in London. They reappeared at the gates of Cirque de Terreur. Alfred wanted to see everything and ride everything but his father reminded him that they would enjoy the cirque after reuniting with Duina.

"Arthur?"

The addressed man turned around to a tall Cuban staring at him in shock. His top hat was slipping from his dreadlocks.

"Alejandro! Good to see you!" Arthur smiled at the ringleader.

"Where have you been? Lukas had to take over the magic show completely." The man looked worried. "You just dropped off the face of the earth four years ago."

"Sorry about that." The Briton cringed.

Alejandro sighed. "Well, it's in the past. I take it you'd like your job back?"

"Of course."

"Good. I'll let you settle in first. Your first show is tomorrow." Then his eyes caught sight of blue eyed Alfred gazing up at him. "Oh . . ."

"What?" Arthur frowned.

"Duina has . . . she's still here, but . . . I'm sorry, Arthur. I'm sorry." The ringleader walked away, a strange glimmer shone in his dark eyes. Arthur was confused. Why was Alejandro sorry? What was with that look? What happened to Duina?

The trailer was just as he left it. It was painted to look like a brick house with a garden full of bright wild flowers. There was a light on so someone was home. Arthur knocked on the door. Duina opened it after along minute. She looked so tired but once seeing Arthur she went stiff. "A-Arthur?" she looked down to find the bouncing toddler clinging to her ex's hand. That cowlick, identical to her own, indicated it was indeed who she thought it was.

"Mommy!" Alfred detached himself from his father and raced to hug his mother's knees.

Duina stumbled back horrified. Arthur raced in to keep her from falling. "Careful! He's very strong."

The trapeze artist looked almost angry. "Why'd you come back?" she hissed.

Taken aback by her acidic reaction, Arthur let go of her arms. "What's wrong?"

"Who iz zis, Duina?"

The English man whipped around to find a man beginning to stand at the table. In front of him was a plate of shapeless pancakes and a . . . child? The tiny toddler had Duina's lavender-blue eyes.

"I-I can explain, Francis." Duina stuttered

"Pancakes!" Alfred raced to take a few sticky shapes. Matthew was unsure of what to do, so he just watched the older boy chow down on his food. Francis was shocked to find the new boy had Duina's cowlick.

"What is going on here?" Arthur asked, fearing the worst. "Is that also your child?"

"'Also'?" Francis exclaimed. "You had another child before Mattieu?" he raised his voice, and showed his teeth in hurt and annoyance. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"How old is he?" Duina asked.

"Five!" Arthur felt like crying. "H-how could you not know?" he was completely exasperated. "Did . . . did you forget-"

"Yes, I did!" the woman screamed. "I forgot about you and that kid! In fact, I forgot the moment I met Francis."

The Frenchman was shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm so sorry, monsieur. I honestly didn't know."

Arthur wanted to be furious at Francis but he couldn't muster the anger. It was all directed at Duina. She hadn't changed one bit. "Have you been a better mother to his child?"

"I-I . . ." she trailed off. "I have a social life; I can't just be some little wet nurse all the time."

"Alfred, get over here." Arthur commanded.

"What, Daddy?" Alfred had obviously not been paying attention to the darkening mood.

"Let's go see the rides."

"Yay! Is Mommy coming, too?"

The Briton glared daggers at Duina. "Mummy is busy."

"But . . ." Alfred clung to Duina. His sticky hands marred her pants.

Horrified that her clothes were ruined, she kicked and Alfred fell against the ground. He was dazed for a little as his father fussed over him. Then he began to sniffle. Arthur pulled him to his chest just as he began to wail. His tiny arms looped around his father's neck. Acidic green eyes glowered scornfully at a shocked Duina before he stomped out.

"Papa . . ." Matthew tugged on Francis' pant leg. He showed a pack of frozen peas.

Francis scooped up his son and raced out to meet Arthur stomping towards the city. "Wait, monsieur!"

"What do you want, Frog?" Arthur growled. Matthew shyly offered the frozen peas and his anger melted. "Oh . . . thanks . . ." he pressed the icy pack to Alfred's throbbing goose egg.

There was an awkward moment as both men just stood there, not saying anything, not meeting each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry . . . she never told me." Francis said once Alfred's wails turned to hiccups.

"Duina is just a- . . . cover his ears." Matthew ear was pressed to his father's chest; the other was covered by a long elegant hand. "She's a whore." That statement was painfully true and it wounded Arthur greatly to actually say it. He still loved Duina.

"Why'd you leave?"

Snapped out of his melancholy, Arthur sighed. "Duina would not take responsibility. She would feed Alfred junk food, leave him unattended, she rarely held him . . . I thought if I would leave for a while she would learn her lesson, but it looks like I was wrong."

Matthew gazed innocently at Arthur's eyebrows. They were the bushiest things ever. Francis stared down at his dazed son. This sounded all too familiar.

"I'll warn you. Get away from her for his sake." Arthur nodded to Matthew.

Francis truly loved Duina, too, but he loved his son much more. "I'll try but . . . I'm part of ze cirque so she's the only one who can look after mon petite Mattieu while I'm doing my job."

Alfred raised head as Arthur's shoulders sagged. He was in the same boat. The only solution seemed so distasteful at the moment. "Maybe . . ."

There was a slam. The males turned around to find Duina stomping away. Two bags hung in her hands. Francis jogged up to her. "Where are you going?" he asked innocently.

"I can't take it anymore! Matthew is one thing but also Alfred? No! Everyone already looks at me like I'm a slut, but when they see me with two kids I'll die socially! I'm leaving!"

Francis' blue eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"You heard me. Good bye."

…

Francis and Arthur decided to bunk in the same trailer seeing that Duina wouldn't be coming back. Both needed to take care of their sons but needed help . . . and at the moment there wasn't another option. Alfred and Matthew got along alright. The older would hog all the toys and run over his half-brother a lot but Matthew was just happy to have a playmate.

The sleeping arrangements were a bit hard to sort out. Alfred wanted his own bed, but there were only two beds. Both parents wanted to be near their children but they'd soon be cramped because children grow quickly. They just about gave up when it became dark. Matthew was already asleep alone in a bed. Alfred clambered under the covers too and instantly fell asleep. It was so adorable when they cuddled that the older men swooned. So the kids would sleep together, it seemed. But that meant Arthur and Francis had to share the other bed. They weren't happy about that. They even got a body pillow to separate themselves. Arthur hated it far more. Francis liked to find body warmth at night subconsciously. The Briton would wake in the middle of the night to find the Frenchman's arm coiled around his waist. He would push away causing Francis to hit the wall and himself fall to the cold ground. Sleep was quite hard to come by for them, at first, but by the time a few weeks went by they didn't care anymore.

…

One cold winter, Alfred dared seven year old Matthew to lick a frozen pole. Of course Matthew refused.

"C'mon, Mattie," whined nine year old Alfred. "The tongue thing is just a myth!" he shoved his half-brother's face into the pole knowing it would stick. His father and Francis weren't too far away when they heard Matthew's startle whimper.

Instead of his tongue being stuck, part of his lip was. Knowing he'd get in trouble, Alfred tried to pull Matthew away. When he did succeed he got in worse trouble. Matthew was bleeding. Francis scooped him up into his arms and dabbed away the blood as his son silently cried. Arthur gave Alfred an earful about how irresponsible, hurtful and cruel he had been. "Go apologize, now."

Alfred shuffled to Matthew; his head was bowed in shame. "I'm sorry, Mattie. It won't happen again."

Matthew's lip would scar but he harbored no ill feelings. "Thanks . . ."

"Y-y'know, it'll look like a star exploding. The scar," Alfred tried to make his half-brother feel better. "It'll look cool."

Francis' eyes locked with Arthur's. They were a family now, they both knew it. Now . . . who was the mommy and who was the daddy?


	5. Chapter 4

"So who're you bunking with?" Gilbert asked around a mouthful of delicious food. Not as delectable as Matthew's miracle pancakes but good.

"Matvey."

"Matvey…?" the albino tilted his head in confusion.

Ludwig groaned. "He means Matthew."

"Oh!" the pale face lit up instantly. "Birdie!"

"Birdie?" now it was Ivan's turn to look confused.

"Ja!" the yellow bird flew endlessly around Gilbert's mop of white hair. What was with that thing? As if not noticing the tiny fowl, Gilbert pressed on. "Ohm my little Birdie, always so shy and innocent. But his pancakes are damn good!" then he turned serious. "You'd better be good to him, Ivan."

Ivan choked on his food. "Wh-what are you saying, Gilbert?"

"Don't hurt him. He's more fragile than he leads us to believe. Personal experience, y'know…"

Before his brother delved into a back story, Ludwig changed the subject. "That vas quite a show earlier, Ivan. No one can say they beat mein brudder in a drinking contest."

Gilbert grew enraged instantaneously. Obviously his pride had been damaged. "Damn it, West! Why'd you have to bring that up? As your awesome older brother, I demand you never bring that up again!"

"Dumkopf." the strongman/handyman sighed.

"What's wrong, comrade? There is no shame in _losing _once in a while." Ivan taunted with a smug smile.

"Smartass prick!" Gilbert threw up his arms and cursed heavily in German. Ludwig seemed to go redder and redder with every shouted word. Good thing there was a language barrier. Whatever Gilbert was saying, Ivan was glad not knowing. His hair might have gone white.

"Such a vulgar man!" a frying pan came down on the albino's head. The apron wearing Hungarian was as red as Ludwig. "Can't you be more respectable like your brother or Roderich?"

"Shut up, Elizabeta!" Gilbert cringed as the pan came close to his head again. "Sorry! Sorry!"

Elizabeta snorted daintily in mild disgust then strutted away back to her husband Roderich.

"Damn bitch…" the albino grumbled.

"What was that?" the woman screeched.

"I didn't say anything!"

Ivan turned away from the bickering German speakers to look around. There was such an array of people! He say his fellow werewolves with the shopkeeper, blank faced wizard, and werewolf trainer. The contortionists and Kiku ate with the Vargas brothers. The gun toting siblings ate alone, all others were obviously afraid of Vash's permanent scowl. A man in a mask taunted another lethargic looking man. Others drifted about, as if they couldn't decide where to sit.

Then Ivan spotted Matthew under the arm of a flamboyant man with long wavy hair. The very same from the poster. The similarities were uncanny. Looking quite irritated was a scruffy haired blonde that the Russian identified as Arthur the wizard. He sat next to the flamboyant man, inching away when ever the man reached out to touch him. And next to Arthur was Alfred; stuffing his face and talking animatedly to the three other blondes. He lifted his hand and leaned other to pat Matthew on the head. Neither one seemed to be upset from their fight the previous night. That was a good thing, right?"

Then the flamboyant one lifted his arm from Matthew's shoulders to hug the eyebrow man. The reaction was quite vicious. The wizard took a knife and stuck it though his neighbor's shoulder and cut off the entire limb. The man looked at Arthur with hurt in his eyes but didn't scream. He took his severed arm and put it back to his bleeding shoulder. Within seconds the fingers and elbow could move again. As if it had never happened he reached over to try and hug Arthur again.

While this went on, Matthew took his plate and left the rowdy table. He searched for a new table quickly and instantly met Ivan's gaze. He gave him an imploring look. Ivan smiled. Matthew was swift. He got to the bench Ivan shared with Gilbert and Ludwig in a second. "H-hey, mind if I sit?"

Gilbert, shaken out of his funk, jumped up. "Birdie! You're just in time to tell this newbie how awesome I am!"

"Yes, Gil, you're the most awesome man who has ever or will ever live." Matthew rolled his eyes. He had said this so many times it had lost all meaning to him.

"You bet your sweet ass! Gilbert smacked the blonde on the rump.

Matthew squeaked and jumped. His plate was almost flung to the snow. He fell right at someone's feet. "I told you not to do that anymore, Gil!" his face burned as he picked himself up, carefully balancing his plate. A hand reached out to help him.

Matthew smiled up at the owner only to realize it was Ivan and he, himself, had landed right between the giant's knees. His face had to look like a tomato now. "T-thanks, I-Ivan…" he sat next to his roommate but was careful to not get close enough that their arms would touch.

How embarrassing! Maybe Ian didn't think anything of it, maybe he was over reacting. Matthew glanced over to find the giant's face very near his own. He let out another squeak. "Y-yes?"

"Are you feeling well, Matvey? Your face is red." Ivan touched the back of his hand to Matthew's forehead. "And you're burning hot!" concern filled his violet red tinted eyes.

A dopey voice could be heard in the background. "Y'know, Lovino, I was wrong. That guy looks like a tomato!"

An enraged tone snapped. "Wha-! Bastard!"

"Nope. I was wrong about being wrong. You're still a tomato, Lovi!"

"Chigi…"

Matthew forced his lavender-blue eyes away. "I-I'm okay."

"Yo, dudes~!" All the noise stopped in the clearing. Alfred was standing on the nearest table, his blue eyes were bright. He obviously enjoyed having all the attention on him. "Time to pick the next city!"

Alfred took off his top hat and held it down for the carnies to leave suggestions as to where they should go next. Once done, he swirled the hat to get everything jumbled.

"Chelles, would you do the honor?" the ringleader stooped low, almost bowing like a gentleman.

The young mermaid girl reached into the hat and drew out a neatly folded convenience store receipt with a large name in permanent marker on it. "Chicago," she read aloud.

"Chicago!" the young ring leader cried so everyone could hear. Some people groaned. That was halfway across the country. It would take days to get there. "Aw, guys~! Don't be like that!"

Matthew chewed his cooling food silently as he watched his brother try to get his performers pumped. He frowned at that thought. _Alfred's performers_. His brother thought the world revolved around him and everyone would just agree to everything he says. That egocentric jerk. It was good to have confidence in yourself but Alfred thought too highly of himself. It made Matthew sick sometimes. But he couldn't hat his brother. Papa and Maman had taught him better than that.

Unknown to Matthew, Ivan was watching his facial reactions go from blank to irritated to sad. He wondered what the little man was thinking. "You sure you're okay, Matvey?"

Matthew jumped. His face flushed red again. "O-oui! I'm fine!"

Ivan smiled, which only made the blonde go redder_. Matvey looks so cute when flustered, he decided._


	6. Chapter 5

_I am not dead, yet! *rawr* I apologize to all of you. I have not had time or even internet connection for a while now. But still that is no excuse._

_Here is your reward for being so patient…_

…..

The wizards had conjured up drivers to tote the trailers so the performers could laze about in comfort. But it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Boredom set in before the sun completely scaled the sky. It was a long day of nothing. Ivan didn't have anything to entertain himself with. The radio and the TV only got local channels so they would have to be adjusted every so often. So why bother? He spent hours staring at the ceiling, as the sun began to clamber down the sky again.

Matthew had the same problem. All the books he had were too familiar. He had read each at least four times. He didn't have any inspiration to draw or write. He wanted to talk with his werewolf roommate but he didn't know how to spark a conversation with the man. Ivan was the silent type and Matthew was too shy.

It was Hell, they both decided unanimously.

Deciding to break the silence, Matthew went to the fridge and took out two sodas. "Want one?"

"Sure," Ivan trudged over. "Uh…what are you doing?"

Matthew looked up from pouring maple syrup into his own can. "What? I like maple syrup."

After searching the younger man's eyes, Ivan shrugged dismissively. "You are very strange, Matvey." He patted the golden locks. Wow…just as he expected, Matthew's hair was incredibly soft.

Matthew went adorably red again. "I-I'm not strange!"

"Da, you are."

"You're one to talk. You're also a carnie."

"Da, da, but I do not eat sweet goo with every meal."

That genuinely offended him. "It is not 'sweet goo'!"

Ivan blinked in surprise. Matthew was now red with anger. It didn't suit him, even if he was still cute. "Sorry, Matvey,"

Snorting, the small carnie continued to drown his drink in the maple syrup. But his anger didn't last long. It never did. "It's all right. Just don't dis the syrup again, okay?"

"Da."

Matthew sat on the bench opposite of Ivan. The table supported two pairs of elbows. i Maple! It's quiet again!/i "So…what did you do for a job before the cirque?"

Almost not hearing his roommate, Ivan sipped his drink. The carbonation burned the back of his throat in a pleasant way. "A little of this, a little of that. Mostly an errand boy for the wrong crowd."

Matthew involuntarily leaned back. "Wh-what kind of 'wrong crowd' were you associated with?"

Shamelessly, Ivan answered. "Gangs mostly. One time it was the mafia, and some crooked politician. Paid well," his expression darkened. "I had to do what I had to do to keep my sisters warm, happy, and safe."

The Canadian sipped his sugary drink. "Sisters?"

"I have two. One older, one younger. Katyusha is s doting and sweet, Natalia is affectionate…a little too affectionate…" he shuddered remembering her demanding him to marry her. It gave him the bulk of his nightmares.

"What of your parents?"

Ivan's face went blank. He had brief flash backs to that night filled with screams, pain and fear. "They…left us…when I was seven."

"How awful!" Matthew frowned.

"Actually, we would have been worse off if they had stayed. We would have probably died if they didn't leave.

Questioning the reasoning behind Ivan's words, Matthew nodded slowly.

"So," the Russian started. "What did iyou/i do before the cirque?"

"Um, w-well, my entire life I've been with the cirque with Papa. Y'know, the Frenchman whose arm was cut off?"

"Ah…him. That's a bit creepy."

"Yeah, but it fits this place, eh?"

They shared a short bout of nervous laughter.

"Your entire life?" Ivan urged him to go on.

Matthew jumped. "Oh. Oui. I was schooled and raised with Papa here. Arthur also raised his son, Alfred here too. Maman was a trapeze performer and had an affair with Papa when she was technically with Arthur. Alfred is m-my half-brother, and two years older…"

"Wow,"

"Y-yeah. Then Maman just left when Arthur and P-Papa found out. Neither would take care of us alone so they worked together and tada…" Matthew held up his hands. "Here we are now."

"Looked like your father and Arthur have each other-or at least Arthur hates your father."

"Yeah. Arthur dislikes Papa but actually they're pretty good friends now - despite the kids thing."

"Hm." A heavy silence spread through the trailer again. That dreaded boring silence. Ivan was beginning to think this was worse than snow. "Everyone has their baggage, da?"

"Oui."

They toasted to that

"Hm…I wonder…what day is it?

Ivan checked his phone. "Wednesday."

Matthew's lips went into an "o" shape as he leaned against the wall so he could stretch his legs over the padded seat.

"What?"

"I was wondering why Papa hasn't called me yet. He usually loves to talk non-stop during moves. But it's Wednesday, so …eh." He shrugged. His lips curled into a little smile.

"What's different about Wednesdays, Matvey?"

"Really, you do not want to know."

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Ivan raised his brow and smirked. He knew of ways to get the little blonde to talk. "Matvey…" he purred playfully.

Matthew sighed in defeat. Sure he himself was stubborn but he did want to see Ivan's face when he told him. "There is no delicate way of putting this. Papa, Gilbert, and Antonio get together on Wednesdays and," he motioned for the larger man to come closer as if to share a secret. He whispered in Ivan's ear as if there were others in the "house".

Ivan's face was priceless when he jerked away. It went from shock, to confusion, to exasperation, to something unreadable. Then back again. "A-And how do you know this?"

"I've lived with these men all my life; it's not secret to me, or the rest of the cirque."

Ivan would never look at those three men the same way again. His face felt like it was going red. Matthew smirked. Ivan looked cute when he didn't know what to think.

A terrified scream cut through the air. Then five reports of a gun followed after. The "house" stopped moving with a lurch, sending everything forward harshly. Ivan stuck out his hand so Matthew wouldn't bank his head against the table.

"What's going on out there?" Ivan asked after his roommate muttered a shocked "thanks".

"That sounded like Lili!" Matthew jumped up and out of the "house", barely making time to grab his coat from his closet.

By Matthew's panicked tone, Ivan was also set into action. It was freezing outside and the snow was thick. Ice slipped into Ivan's sneakers with every step. A crowd had gathered around the trailer with a bright yellow peace sign. Vash's voice would be heard over the low noises of anger and shock.

"How could you?! You attacked my sister! Why?! I should blow your head to Kingdom Come!"

Several more gunshots rang ut into the darkening evening. This time there was a pained yelp. Ivan jumped. He understood it as if it were English or Russian.

"i I'm sorry! Please stop! /i"

Those words rang in Ivan's head. The memories stung like angry bees. Instincts made him push forward. He needed to prtect that little thing in pain. He was just about there when Alfred yelled.

"ENOUGH!"

All noise stopped. All movement halted.

Vash scowled deeper than normal. His biggest shot gun was still pointed forward. His little sister was shaking behind him clutching her right hand close to her chest. Ruby blood stained her sleeve. On the other side was a shivering little beast. Its fur was deep red and slicked down in a couple places with blood, its eyes were large and pleading. It…he was just a puppy.

Matthias and Berwald were beside him in human form looking torn between helping the puppy or shunning him.

"I-It's all right, bruder…" Lili said meekly.

"It is not!" Vash snapped. "That mutt attacked you! All mutts are dangerous!"

That struck a nerve in the werewolves. Even if Ivan didn't like that he was a wolf, it offended him to be called a "mutt". Matthias was the first to snap. His form expanded in a second. His fur was pitch black with accents of ruby. His sharp ivory fangs gnashed.

"_We ain't no damn mutts!"_ he snarled.

Of course the humans didn't understand the language of beasts.

"Who're you?" Berwald squatted by the puppy. The shock of the gunshots and being so young the puppy wasn't feral at the moment. He had is humanity, it was an instinct, that some possessed, to help the wolf comprehend the situation.

"_I-I'm Raivis, t-the food stand coordinator." _

"Wh're you a w'lf, R'vis?"

"_I-I don't know. A-A woman bit m-me the o-other day. Is th-that…"_

"A wom'n?"

"_Her eyes were…"_ the young pup looked away and whined pitifully. If he were in human form he'd be crying.

Berwald nodded once. He knew. The eyes of the one who cursed a werewolf were always predatory, feral, and evil. Every wolf was plagued with the memory of them.

Ivan found himself speaking. "Raivis is pretty new to this; he cannot at all control himself. And he's very young."

Everyone looked at him skeptically. Someone yelled, "Right! And why did you join the cirque, huh? Oh yeah, to learn control. You're just like that mutt."

"He is not a mutt!" Ivan snapped back. His voice was unnaturally loud. Everyone was instantly afraid of the man. Calming himself, he looked to Lili. "Did he bite you?"

"N-no. It's only a scratch."

"Good. You won't become a wolf."

Vash's shoulders uncoiled a little in relief.

Alfred took the spot light again. "Ahem! Remember the rules around here? 'No one carnie may harm another carnie without punishment.' Elizabeta hitting Gilbert, and anyone against Francis exempted."

The troupe tensed.

"Punishment? What'll happen to Raivis?" two young men squeezed their way to the front.

"_Toris! Eduard!"_ Raivis whimpered from under Matthias' belly.

"Considering that he drew blood from our precious Lili," Arthur cut in, "Alfred will not let him off easily."

The glasses perched on Alfred's nose shone brightly in the retreating sunlight. It hid his dangerous eyes from sight so no one knew what he was thinking. The ringleader's lips were in a hard frown, something that didn't look quite right on his face.

"Raivis Galente," Alfred spoke at last. He paused. The cirque leaned forward, breaths bated, ears open. "For the crime of attacking Lili Zwingli and drawing blood your punishment is…"

Raivis lowered his head even more. A pitiful whine escaped his narrow chest.

"Termination of employment."

….

_I know, I know. Alfred is an asshole. The power went to his head and he's afraid of losing it. He has a Machiavellian view on this. It is better to be feared than loved. That's just my head canon for Al in this fic._

_I own nothing, sadly._


	7. Chapter 6

Toris and Eduard were the first to gasp. Then came the rest of the cirque. This punishment was much too severe. Even Vash was taken aback. Raivis was just a kid-err-puppy; Alfred couldn't just toss him on the high road. Modern society didn't accept werewolves. Where would he go?

"That's not right, Alfred!" Matthew came up out of nowhere. "Please reconsider!"

"I have carried out my role, _little brother_; I will not reassess this crime."

"Alfred…"

Lili even spoke up. "M-mister Jones, please, th-that's too much! I-it's only a scratch." She showed her hand. "See? I-It stopped bleeding."

Cold blue eyes settled on her. Not a word was spoken but Lili back off and hid behind Vash as if the ringleader had just threatened her.

"Alfred, what are you doing?" Arthur and Francis came forward, confusion and anger shone in their eyes.

"Mon cher, why are you kicking poor petite Raivis to ze curb? Lili iz fine now."

"Yes. And you just admitted Ivan to help with his control, why not do the same with the unfortunate lad?"

Alfred's voice dripped with malice. "You're questioning your ringleader?"

Even his own father flinched. No one spoke.

Well not until Matthew opened his mouth. "The power's getting to your head, Al! Y-you're being rash, and rude, and you think you can do anything you please without suffering the consequences-…"

Suddenly Matthew collapsed, his accusing finger still was held out. His nose bled.

"Anyone else have anything to say?"

That wasn't Alfred. Ivan knew it. What happened to that wannabe punk? Who was this cold man? Was this yet another side of the ringleader?

"Good. Raivis. You have thirty minutes to pack up everything and leave-"

"We're going, too!"

Toris and Eduard stormed out to stand in front of their friend. The former kept his eyes on Alfred's chin but glared nonetheless. "W-we can't just leave Raivis alone like this. So…we're quitting!"

"Matthew's right…Maybe you shouldn't be ringleader." Eduard murmured. For humans the wind ate his words, but the wolves heard.

Raivis had changed back and was huddled naked in the snow. Toris draped his coat over the younger boy's shoulders. "C'mon, let's go." Blood dripped after the trio. Sobs and tears were carried away by the falling snow.

There was a tense minute until Alfred's punk side reared its head again. "Cool! They can have their house. We don't need to take it," he strutted away laughing as if he had cracked a joke. "Plus, it's beginning to snow again."

Slowly the carnies dispersed to their respective "houses" eager to get out of the cold. Ivan scooped up Matthew who was still down for the count. He was so much lighter than he looked.

Francis touched his son's cheek. "Mon pauvre bébé…take care of him."

"Da, I will." Ivan assured.

He was worried. Why had Matthew collapsed like that in mid-rant? Why had he started bleeding from his nose, too?

Matthew was tucked under his covers fully clothed. The damn heater didn't work and Ivan had accidentally left the door open when he dashed outside. The blood was easy to wash away and it didn't seem like it was going to start up again. As Ivan took off Matthew's shoes, the owner woke up.

"Eh?...Ah-AAAH!" Matthew jumped back, leaving Ivan quite confused.

"W-what's wrong, Matvey?"

"Y-y-y-you were u-u-undressing me!" his face was scarlet.

"No, I was only taking your shoes off." Ivan deadpanned but blushed a little.

"O-oh…"

"Hold your head back." The Russian instructed.

Matthew blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

Ivan pressed Matthew's chin upwards. "You're bleeding again." He fetched a paper towel.

"Thanks." The young man plugged both nostrils.

"Why did this happen to you, Matvey?"

Matthew sighed. His voice was a little lisped from the plugs, "As a ringleader, Alfred has a lot of power over us, but he's not an ordinary human. He's a bit of a wizard, too, from Arthur. He won't admit it, though. He just thinks it's his leadership skill that makes us to as told. Sometimes when he's really angry he causes people to just…drop. It doesn't happen often."

Ivan scowled. "Isn't there that rule? 'No one carnie may harm another carnie without punishment'? Why wasn't he punished? You _bled_, Matvey."

"No evidence. There needs to b-be physical evidence. Magic doesn't leave a visible trial, only the effect." Matthew blushed. Ivan cared about him. He was really upset to see the little carnie injured.

Ivan pouted childishly. "That's stupid."

"Oui…." Matthew looked towards the door of the trailer. "I wonder if Raivis is going to be alright…"

"His friends Eduard and Toris went with him."

"How nice. They're like brothers."

o0o0o0o

Raivis was happy to have Toris and Eduard with him now that he was banished from the cirque. He thought of them as his brothers even if they didn't share his sentiment. The three watched as the tail-lights of the last house was swallowed by the night. The truck their house was attached to purred lowdly breaking the nowy silence.

"What'll we do now?" Raivis asked in a small voice.

"Go back to the last city we passed, I suppose." Eduard said.

"I'm sorry that I got you kicked out, too," Raivis' eyes were wet again. "I didn't mean to scratch Lili."

Toris patted Raivis' messy blonde locks. "You didn't get us kicked out! We left voluntarily, remember?"

"Yeah, and it wasn't your fault. Tino once told me that controlling the wolf is very difficult. Berwald has practiced for years to get to where he is now." Eduard smiled softly.

Raivis was close to sobbing again. "Th-thank you, b-brothers,"

The other two looked away awkwardly.

"U-um … do you smell perfume?"

"Perfume?'

It's windy; we can't smell a thing-ACK!"

"EDUARD?!"

The Estonian young man gasped raggedly as a long elegant and restricted his airflow and a woman bit into his shoulder. Blood stained his coat in seconds. The woman's silvery bangs cast a shadow over her eyes, but they glowed in a steely grey-blue color evilly. Raivis screamed. She was the same woman who had bitten him.

Eduard collapsed to the snow. His eyes were huge in terror and his mouth was open in a silent, shocked cry. The woman raised her head and smiled.

Despite the gore and just seeing one of his closest friends being bitten, Toris was awestruck with her beauty. He couldn't move as she smashed Raivis down to lay next to Eduard.

"H-hi…" Toris breathed as the woman was within a foot of him.

She was so gorgeous. Her skin was flawless and pale, her lips were full and the blood on them looked like the best complementing lipstick. Her dress was dark blue, nearly black, with white lace. Two inch black high heel boots made her slender legs look oh so enticing. She was perfect in the chest area; not too small, nor too big. Small waist and great hips. The way her waist long hair shimmered in the night made her look other worldly or like some exotic queen.

"Hello, there." And her voice! Like angels singing chorused with tinkling bells. Toris just about melted. "Say. Would you like to serve me?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Good boy." Her arms coiled around his shoulders. Her lips touched the juncture where neck met shoulder. Toris shivered in pleasure. Then she sank her sharp teeth in into his skin. After a moment, she let him collapse at her feet. "You'll be perfect."

She had a plan for those three. She needed minions. Toris was already lovesick and he seemed like the leader of the trio.

"W-what's…your…name?" Toris asked.

The lady wolf glanced down her nose. Even if she only saw them as pawns, she gave him a seductive smile. "My name is Natalia."

….

Translations:

French: Mon pauvre bébé - my poor baby

Mon cher - my dear


	8. Chapter 7

Yao the contortionist had called Ivan over to one of the trailers that was used for practicing on the road. It was a huge area, very wide open and calming. But the very loud Matthias made it hard to relax. That man never shut up.

"And then I told Lukas that he could sit on my lap. He choked me using my tie, but he did sit on me. We cuddled-"

"Aiyah! Shut up, Matthias, aru." Yao berated.

He was a tiny man with long ebony hair. If one didn't know better, they would have thought he was a woman.

"Sorry."

"Now then. Ivan. We meet two days a week. This session is supposed to strengthen one's mind, aru. Self-control is a big factor in regular life but in a werewolf's it is vital." Yao sat with his slender legs crossed on a red mat. There was one for the three others, two, they copied him. "We shall start with clearing our minds, aru. Breathe in slowly, breathe out slowly…" he held his hands together I his lap and closed his eyes.

Berwald and Matthias were able to get it lickity-split but Ivan had a hard time copying the position of Yao's hands.

The Chinese man's fingers were slender and bent so elegantly into a strange, foreign position. Ivan's hand were beefy, his fingers were thick and clumsy. He grew frustrated after a few minutes and just let his hands fall onto his knees.

Breathing wasn't too hard. In, out; in, out. Nothing special. The darkness inside Ivan's eyelids was tranquil but he couldn't calm down. How was this supposed to help him with control? In, out; in, out. Now it was getting redundant. What kind of crap was this? How long was he supposed to sit there breathing? His butt hurt!

Ivan cracked open an eye. Berwald was at his right. His harsh features were smoothed down; he didn't look tense at all. How he had gotten his long fingers into that weird knot would forever be a mystery. Matthias, next to Berwald, was serene as well. His usually grinning mouth was in a straight, lax line. He too had his hands in that impossible tangle. Yao looked like he had gone off his earthly plain. Ivan barely heard him breathe.

Damn it! His leg just went numb.

After a half hour of that, Yao called the werewolves back to reality. Ivan had his head on his palm half asleep.

"I would appreciate it if you made an effort, Ivan, aru." Yao huffed; his golden brown eyes were narrowed. "Now, let's move on to some yoga. A strong mind, a _patient_ mind," he glared at Ivan. "Is important but will itself isn't always enough. A strong body must hold the strain, too. These moves are quite easy, aru. But you'll feel the burn." Yao smirked devilishly at the newest carnie.

Ivan felt a tremor of anxiety go down his spine. What did the Chinese man have in store for him?

o0o0o

"Ow…ow…ow…"

Matthew looked up. The caravan of houses had stopped for the night and he had spent the last hour with his beloved bears. But as he was cooing to the nearest polar bear he had heard groaning just outside the animal trailer.

"Ivan?"

The man looked terrible. He was shaking, barely able to stay on his own two feet. His ashy beige hair was a rat's nest and dripping with sweat. The grey shirt he wore was also soaked with the sour liquid. All in all, he looked like he had been dragged through Hell.

"Oh…Matvey-ow,"

"Yao go 'easy' on you?" Matthew smirked as he leaned out of the trailer.

Ivan nodded his head and winced as his sore neck was strained. "Damn yoga,"

The little man chuckled. "I can smell you from here. Nasty," he pinched his nose shut in chest.

"Ha ha," Now he knew why Matthew had laughed at him earlier about the shower schedule.

Ivan began to trudge forward again. The snow felt more like lead blankets than frozen droplets of water. How he had gotten "home" was a mystery. The shower he took did little to relax his sore, aching muscles. But it did put his mind at ease a little. That was good. If he were to lose it and he got out of the "house" then the whole lot of carnies would be in trouble.

o0o0o

Ivan winced as he role doer. His back felt like one big knot. Wasn't yoga supposed to help one loosen up? He opened his eyes expecting darkness but a light sliced through the room what was Matthew doing up at…Ivan checked the clock…six in the morning? There was a retching noise from the bright bathroom.

"Matvey? Are you okay?" Ivan sat up.

The toilet flushed and a minute later the sink came on. He washed out his mouth before trudging out. Dark circles hung below his dull, half lidded lavender eyes. His hair was ruffled and his shoulders aged. Despite this, he smiled apologetically at his roommate.

"D-did I wake you? Sorry 'bout that."

"It's alright, you didn't wake me. Are you sick?"

Matthew huffed nervously. His stomach didn't support full laughter. "O-Oui…just a little. I feel much better now, though,"

"You sure?"

"Very. Please just…want some pancakes? It's a bit early but pancakes were good all the ti.." Matthew swayed in mid-step. Ivan jumped up to catch the small man before he collapsed.

"Matvey!"

Matthew groaned.

Ivan lugged the Canadian to his bed and covered him in his red and white blanket. "You need to rest!"

"But…my bears…Kuma…jima?" he seemed confused.

"No. Rest." Ivan tucked the blanket closer. He felt the blonde's forehead. "You have a fever. Did you go outside without a coat?"

Matthew coughed a little. "Um…no comment…?"

"You did. That was stupid." The man sighed. "Wait here a moment."

Ivan stood up to find a wash cloth and a bowl for water. It took a few minutes but he gathered the supplies and kneeled by his feverish roommate. He folded the blue clothe, soaked it, then placed it on Matthew's hot forehead.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not, Matvey. Just got to sleep."

The little man closed his tired eyes. "You have another session with Yao today."

"Yeah, but he can wait."

"I'm okay, Ivan. Go to your session…I'll go to Papa. He'll take care of me since you're so concerned."

Ivan frowned. "But-"

"I'm not a baby!" that outburst made Matthew curl into himself, coughing violently. "Ugh…don't' teat me like a baby…" he began to stand and reach for his coat and jeans.

The two left "home" at he same time. Ivan watched Matthew trudge down the parked line of trailer s until he got to one covered in roses. Satisfied, Ivan turned around to march to Yao's practicing trailer. On the way, Elizabeta bumped into him. Literally.

"Sorry, Eliza-"

"Perfect timing! How do you feel, Ivan?"

"I'm…fine?"

The woman yanked him own by his scarf and felt his forehead with the back of her ungloved hand. "Oh, good! No fever."

"What's going on?"

The Hungarian let the Russian back up. "You're new so you don't know. It's usually around this time of year that most of the cirque gets sick with some sort of horrible virus that's a lot like the flu. It's a bit more dangerous because the ill are delusional - I'm no doctor but I blame the crazy gene that we all have. I almost forgot about it until Roderich wouldn't get out of bed this morning. Is uh…your roommate okay?"

"No, Matvey's sick but he's with his father now."

The woman recognized the variation and sighed. "Good. Francis will take care of him. It's probably best to stay away from the rest of the cirque for about twenty four hours. You don't want to catch it."

"M-miss Elizabeta!" Lili came puffing up to the duo. Her hand was wrapped up in a clean white bandage. "Big brother i-is coughing!"

Elizabeta went with the little frantic girl, leaving Ivan alone. He was about to turn back "home when Matthias called his name.

"Hey, Ivan!" the blonde grinned. "Up and early I see."

"Da," Ivan just wanted to go home.

"Everyone's sick, even Yao's little brother Yong Soo. We won't be practicing with him today. But! Berwald and I are going hunting today, wanna join? Don't wanna be hungry during the full moon t'night!"

Ivan flinched. "I-It's tonight?"

"Yep! Oh yeah…your problem…um…don't worry, man!" the man grinned. "We're set free during the full moon. Berwald and I will keep you in check." He gave the bigger man a big smile.

Wanting to believe Matthias, Ivan gave him a smirk. "Thanks, comrade."

"No problem, dude." Matthias threw his arm around the other werewolf's shoulders which was a bit of a difficult task considering the latter was nearly a head taller. "So hunting?"

"No hunting!"

Both men jumped at the sudden presence of the wizard Lukas. He looked boiling mad. He was so much smaller than the other two but a crackling ark aura behind his shoulders caused the other two to cower in fear.

"B-but, Luke…" whined Mathias weakly.

"No 'but's, Matthias Køhler. You are helping Berwald and I take care of Tino and Emil. You are not going to get away this year."

"You got Berwald?!"

"Damn right." The wizard narrowed his dark eyes. "Get to the house. NOW."

"O-okay," Lukas stomped off. Matthias sighed. "Couldn't get away. Damn. I hate it when he gets this frantic. Emil must be really sick."

Ivan raised an eyebrow. That was Lukas frantic? He'd hate to see him in a rage.

"MATTHIAS!"

He called man winced and shivered. "Gotta go. See ya t'night, dude."

"See ya…" Ivan waved goodbye after the spiky haired blonde.

Already exhausted, he turned back to his "house". His hand was on the knob when yet another person called for his attention. Groaning, Ivan turned his head to face Alfred. The ring leader held someone on his back. There was a head of wavy blonde hair resting against his shoulder.

"Yo, Ivan, do me a solid and take care of Mattie for me?"


	9. Chapter 8

Alfred shifted his brother higher on his back. "Chelles and Francis are pukin' and Dad and I have to look after them." He waited for Ivan to answer for a full minute. "Dude?"

"Uh-sure."

"Thanks, dude!" the ringleader turned around and let his limp brother fall roughly to the ground. "Oops!"

Ivan quickly gathered Matthew up in his arms, shooting a heated glare towards the other blonde.

Alfred smiled sheepishly. "I thought you would have caught him!"

"You could have told me you were going to do that." Rebutted the larger man.

"Anyway. See ya. Take care of him" Alfred walked away waving his hand dismissively.

Matthew groaned as his head thumped against Ivan's chest. His hazy eyes fluttered open. "Eh?"

"Let's get you to bed."

Ivan felt like he was thrust back into his past when he took care of his sisters during the long winter after his parents left. Tuck them under warm covers, take off any footwear, put a cold wet towel on their foreheads, and then start making soup. Ivan woke from his walk down memory lane when he realized he could reach the stove's burners. "Ah…" he rubbed the insides of his eyes. "Got to stay focused. You aren't' in the slums anymore, Ivan."

He looked over to the little man who was breathing heavily under his covers. His fever flushed face made him look like a tomato. Ivan's heart clenched in concern - which surprised him. What was Matthew to him? They didn't know each other all that well. Matthew was a tiny voiced, shy, stubborn young man who was extremely polite, and he was proud. His pancakes were out of this world and he was addicted to maple syrup...but that was all Ivan knew about him. So why did this little man-his roommate- make Ivan so upset to see him so ill?

Sighing, Ivan stirred the chicken noodle soup. His mind was jumbled and confused.

"Maple…!"

"Hm?" he looked over again to find Matthew sitting up and tangled in his shirt. His head was very close to popping out of the sleeve. How he had gotten in that position was a mystery. "Matvey!"

Forgetting to soup, Ivan rushed to aid the fidgeting blonde. Matthew refused to put his shirt on properly so Ivan had to toss it aside.

"What were you doing, Matvey?"

Matthew giggled. "I wanna take a shower!"

Ivan blinked a few times before realizing his charge was delusional-like Elizabeta had warned. "That's not a good idea."

The shirtless one pouted cutely. "Why not? I'm sweaty!"

"You might slip and hurt yourself."

"I'll sit down."

"You'll get sweaty again afterwards, so why waste water?"

"Chicago is close, we'll refill when we get there."

"I can't watch you."

"Pervert,"

"No! Not like that! I-I have to monitor you."

"Why?"

"You're sick."

"Why?"

"You went outside without a jacket."

"Why?"

"Because you weren't thinking."

"Why?"

Ivan felt a vein pop in his forehead. "I don't know." He growled through gritted teeth.

Matthew's wide eyes watched the larger man tremble with frustration. Some partially coherent part of him told him to push any farther lest there'd be hell to pay. "Okay." A tiny cough escaped his lips.

Ivan opened his eyes. Matthew's head was lowered so he was looking up in the most innocent way. His thin, naked torso shivered as it curled inward. He looked so venerable. The man couldn't stay mad at him. He sighed in defeat.

"So…can I take a shower?"

This kid was relentless! "Ugh…fine. But only ten minutes."

"Yay!" Matthew threw up his hands then coughed into his arm when his sensitive throat was irritated. He fumbled with his belt buckle but his hand-eye coordination was off. "M-maple…" he pouted.

"Here, let me help." Ivan swatted away Matthew's small hands. His large ones made quick work of the belt and then pulled off the dark wash jeans before the ill man could do something ridiculous like tangling himself in the clothing once more.

Matthew began to giggle once the waistband slid past his slender thighs.

"What?"

"Ivan's undressing me~!" he sang with another giggle.

Ivan's face when red and he could have sworn his nose bled a little. "I-I…I'm not going to take your boxers!"

"Okay~!"

Matthew pranced to the bathroom shakily. Ivan had to look away when he began to wriggle out of his underwear adorned with syrup bottles.

"C-call me if y-you need anything, M-Matvey." Ivan yelled over the cascading water of the shower on full blast.

"Okay~!"

"Soup…focus on the soup…" Ivan told himself.

Matthew sighed as the hot water cascaded down his back. That slight breath caused him to cough. Good thing he was sitting down for he would have slipped with the force of the coughing and hurt himself like Ivan had said.

Matthew's fever clouded mind cleared a bit when thinking of his large roommate. Ivan cared a lot for him. For one, he had gotten very worried that morning when the blonde was vomiting. He was patient and took time to be kind and gentle with him, if a little shy and flustered. Matthew was touched. They had barely shared the house for a week an already the larger man treated Matthew better than his own family.

He wilted a little at that thought. His family loved him-he knew that-but sometimes he wasn't so sure. Arthur was his second caretaker after his maman left. The wizard wasn't easy to win over, but when Matthew did Arthur devoted all the time he could to making him happy. Although, he often mistook him for his own son Alfred. Still does. Francis, Matthew's papa, coddled him to the point of being perverse. The Frenchman would drop anything for his beloved son when he was little. Now Francis only paid attention to Matthew when ate together or when Matthew's health wasn't at its best.

Alfred was completely different story. His half-brother was in some ways his best friend or his worst enemy. Alfred would protect him like an older brother should and lighten up Matthew's mood when he was down. On the other hand, Matthew knew his older brother blamed him for their mother disappearing. Alfred once flat out said that he hated Matthew and wished he was never born. Alfred never did apologize for that.

Matthew's eyes stung. He was crying but the shower's hot water hid the salty tears on his cheeks well. The cool tile felt nice against his temple and shoulder. The temperatures clashed. Matthew decided to focus on that instead. Slowly his body began to sag, and his eyelids pulled shut. A short nap would be nice, too.

Ivan glanced at the clock mounted above the door. Ten minutes had passed. "Matvey. Time to get out." He set aside the soup in bowls.

No answer.

"Matvey," Ivan said more firmly but he had a sinking feeling that something wasn't right. He rapped on the foggy frosted glass calling the smaller man again.

A tiny moan was the final response.

Ivan threw open the sliding door. Matthew was half lying on the off white tile floor and half leaning on the wall. His mouth hung open slightly and his eyes were squeezed shut. "Matvey!"

Ivan quickly turned off the scalding hot water then picked up Matthew's slipper form. He got a towel to wrap him up in before taking him back to his bed.

"Matvey! Wake up!"

"Eh?" Matthew turned his head. "Aw…shower time is over."

Ivan's shoulders sagged. His patient was _fine._

"I'm naked." Matthew giggled hugging the fluffy royal purple towel closer to his chest he had somehow gotten it off his back so it hung loosely to his front. The towel reviled much of his slender physique but nothing m-rated showed.

Ivan's face felt hot as his eyes roamed Matthew's smooth, pale skin. The gentle curve of his waist meeting his hips was scandalous. Long slender lets just begged to be touched. Heat coiled in the larger man's belly when the towel fell from Matthew's small hands to reveal his smooth lightly toned stomach and chest.

Matthew took the Russian out of his gazing by slapping his palms to the latter's red cheeks. "Hi!" he beamed. "I'm tired."

"Get some clothes on and you can sleep." Ivan stood up and turned around. He needed to calm down.

After a few minutes, Matthew began to giggle. "I'm wearing red and you're a wolf"

"Huh?"

"What big hands you have, Ivan." The Canadian giggled at his own joke.

"Oh…" Ivan rolled his eyes. "Red riding hood reference,"

Matthew plopped down on Ivan's bed. The red shirt and white sweat pants stood out starkly on the dark blue covers. "Sit with me, please?"

Ivan obeyed.

They sat there for a while not moving or speaking. The silence wasn't uncomfortable but it wasn't exactly favorable. Matthew, in another moment of clarity, glanced over to Ivan who sat with his elbows on his knees. His amaranthine eyes lazily searched the surroundings not really looking at anything in particular. His wide back was arched and the thin fabric of his shirt couldn't' hide the impressive rippling muscle. Suddenly Matthew felt like a twig. He felt his own narrow throat and looked up to compare it to Ivan's. Only he couldn't see his roommate's neck. A long white scarf, made of sift, smooth material, hit it. The fabric looked old but well taken care of. Not one stich was snagged and there was nary a stain.

'_Maple. Did I just think of the word "nary"? How old am I?'_ Matthew twisted his features in confusion.

Irritation settled in his throat. The Canadian tried to keep it in but to avail. He had to turn the other way to let out a long string of harsh coughs. His lavender orbs shut with the shock and his tiny frame shook violently.

Once done, Matthew felt a large warm hand on his back. "You feel okay, Matvey?"

Matthew actually felt like crap; his entire body was sore again. The effects of the shower had been short lived. His head throbbed, his eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his skull, he shivered uncontrollably and was insanely cold. "Uh-uh…"

"Want some soup? Once you have something in you, you'll feel better."

Not if he pukes it out the moment it hits his gut. Matthew's stomach did flips. "N-no…thanks…" he held his middle gingerly to signal his caretaker.

Ivan frowned. He hated feeling helpless. Matthew probably couldn't even stomach water and a pain reliever. What could he do to help?

Matthew leaned against Ivan relishing the warmth he provided. Said warmth tensed. "M-Mavey?"

"Sorry…can I? For a little?...until I fall asleep?"

Ivan couldn't protest. He could at least let Matthew go to sleep against him. Suddenly he shifted Matthew and himself so they were lying on his bed. The ill young man was surprised for a moment. Then his sleepy head rested against Ivan's chest and he sighed. The warmth was so comfortable.

Ivan felt himself smile when he noticed his patient's breathing becoming slow and steady. Finally he was comfortable enough to fall asleep. Ivan's intention was to let Matthew drift off then go put away the food he had set out but he didn't move. He found himself marveling at how perfectly Matthew's body molded against his. He liked the presence at his side and the light weight of his hand fisting on his shirt. Experimentally he put his own hand on Matthew's waist. This just seemed right.

Ivan stared at the ceiling. In his peripheral vision was Matthew's wet head of golden hair. It smelled like citrus shampoo and maple syrup. His free hand came over to play with the soaked locks. Even in their state, Ivan could feel the softness of the hair.

Breaking the peace, the AC sputtered to life and started spewing ice cold air into the "house". Ivan scowled at the damned thing. Matthew's frame began to shudder and he moaned in discomfort. Hurriedly, the werewolf reached out his long arm for the crumpled maple leave blanket across the room. The space between the two beds wasn't too large but of course Ivan couldn't' retrieve the comforter. He had to detach himself from Matthew to complete the task.

Matthew clung to Ivan when he came back. He unconsciously held is chest with his slender arms and whimpered until he found his comfortable spot and warmth again.

Muttering apologies, Ivan threw the white and red blanket over both of them. He began to stroke the wet blonde locks again, smiling.


	10. Chapter 9

**What is going on with me? I don't drink coffee but I'm rolling these chapters out like no one's business! What the fjkdlajdkljsdkls;jakl;fjdk;…Hello, I am officially gone. Please enjoy the update.**

'_**text'**_**=werewolf speech**

_**Text**_**=thoughts**

o0o0o

Had he drifted off too? He must have because the clock said that several hours had passed. Slowly, Ivan stretched. His body felt wonderfully rested and heavy. But one side of him felt heavier than the other. He smiled gently at Matthew still pressed to his side. He looked so peaceful and comfortable that Ivan didn't have the heart to wake him.

His eyes were about to close for another nap when someone knocked on the door. He growled irritably.

Matthew's bleary eyes fluttered open lazily. The lavender color was dark. "Who's at the door, eh?" he slurred sleepily.

Groaning, Ivan pried himself away. "I'll go check,"

When Ivan got to the door he wished he had brought a blanket. The air was cold and his skin had formed goose bumps. He ripped the door open and scowled at the knocker, angry at him for disturbing his perfectly peaceful and warm afternoon.

"O-oh! Sorry! U-um…was I interrupting?"

Ivan recognized this petite blonde with warm brown eyes as the souvenir salesman.

"What do you want?"

"Ivan!" a small hand hit his bicep. Matthew sniffled as he pulled the blanket closer to himself. "Sorry, Tino, just woke up." He pointed to his roommate.

"Oh, sorry about waking you but Su-san told me to get you. Remember? It's the full moon." Tino pointed upwards to the darkening sky. It had splashes of pink, purple and navy blue.

Ivan's first thought was that Kiku and Feliciano had gotten a hold of the Finn; causing him to call Berwald "Su-san" his second thought was not so idle. He winced at the dark sky. It was already that late? Then he glanced down to Matthew. He was still ill and needed someone to look after him. Ivan would be beast soon enough so he couldn't play caretaker.

Tino caught the larger man's concerned gaze. "Don't worry; I'll take him to my house. I'm still sick and Lukas is there with Emil. Just go on to the field over there, Su-san and Matthias are waiting."

Matthew patted Ivan's shoulder. "I'll get my shoes and hoodie."

Ivan was a stone statue when Matthew returned. The larger man didn't get this coat, he really wouldn't need it. Before the three went off in their separate directions he turned back. "Matvey!"

"Oui?" the blonde coughed a little. Then a warm softness settled around his shoulders and brushed his nose. "Eh?"

Ivan cracked a little smirk. "Take care of it for me?"

Matthew smelled years of wear, sun, and Ivan's own intoxicating scent on the scarf. He looked strange without it around his own neck. The receding light cast shadows over his throat. There were so many scars there. Matthew stared in awe and shock.

"Matvey?"

"Oh! Yes, I'll take care of it."

Ivan smiled. He had never done that before. No one seemed trustworthy enough to even touch it but here he was, willingly giving it to Matthew. "Thank you. See you in the morning, da?"

Matthew beamed even if the scarf hid half his face. "See you then."

o0o0o

The other two men were waiting in the snow not too far from the line of trailers. Ivan was more than a bit antsy about how he could still see all the "homes". But his nervousness was overshadowed by surprise when Matthias greeted him.

"Glad ya could make it, man!" he held out his fist waiting for Ivan to return the gesture.

"You're naked, comrade."

"So? I don't want my threads to rip when I turn." Matthias whined. "Don't leave me hangin'!"

Berwald was sitting on a long. His clothes were thankfully on.

"So you two will keep me under control?"

"Yeah! We'll try to coax out your humanity too!" Matthias cheered as if he wasn't refused a fist bump.

"Well…be careful." Ivan warned.

Berwald took off his glasses. The moon was beginning to peek over the horizon. "We w'll,"

The two men stripped off their clothes just as the magical quality of the fat disk in the sky turned on a switch in their bodies. When a wolf turns voluntarily there is a flash of pain, nothing much, and it is easy to overcome. On the other hand, when a wolf turns because something forces them-say, the moon- it is much more painful. The process is slow; they feel every bit of their body shift, stretch, and tear.

Three voices screamed in agony into the night. Their screams soon turned into a chorus of chest vibrating howls.

Matthias shook himself; his four legs were splayed out to support this powerful movement. His long, spiky, black and red fur was so warm. It was cold when he was human! His sharp indigo eyes quickly settled on Berwald. The Swedish werewolf was a bit taller and leaner with dark, smoky fur that looked almost navy blue. Matthias wagged his tail, and acted like a puppy wanting to play. He loved being in this form. He felt like a king. So powerful and regal.

'_Matthias,'_ Berwald barked. When in wolf form he didn't have his speech problem. _'Stop that.'_

Matthias minced a little more just to spite his friend before a savage snarl cut through the frigid air.

Ivan was crouched down, his violet red eyes were wild and his long teeth were bared. The tan fur along his spine was sticking on end. Even when down low, he was a huge wolf, bigger than the other two. Not just taller, but he was more muscular. Matthias was instantly on the offensive. Instinct told him that no humanity was in Ivan's head at the moment. This was a huge beast that was purely animal.

'We're so boned…' Matthias muttered.

'You think?' Berwald growled.

'Hey…Ivan…buddy?' the darkest wolf tried to seem non-threatening. 'Look…you're okay. It's safe here…'

The wolf snarled louder in response. This was different for him. Usually when the moon came or when the wolf came out, he was alone and in a cramped space. The wind was cold, the field looked endless, and then there were the two others of his kind. He had only once encountered another werewolf. It wasn't pleasant.

'_Don't get too close, Matthias'_ the blue tinted one warned.

The black and red male inched forward slowly, his head was lowered. 'Talk to us, please.'

Ivan barked and snapped his jaws. He had to get away. These two made him feel cornered. His wild eyes darted back and forth.

Berwald saw this and lunged to pin him to the ground, but was a second too late. Ivan had taken off…towards the row of parked trailers. The metaphorical gloves were off. Matthias and Berwald sprinted after the fleeing werewolf. They needed to keep him from finding anyone and hurting them.

o0o0o

"I'll go get a few blankets," Matthew called back into Lukas' house. They were short a few blankets and the Canadian was the only one who was fit enough- or lest frantic at the moment- to get a few spares from his home. His headache wasn't as bad as earlier but his nose had started to act up. Even when sneezing, he could do some things to help.

He had a small stack of blankets when he sneezed rather violently. All the folded fabric fell onto the slushy snow. "Augh!" Matthew bent to gather up the blankets to exchange them.

When he had a few in his hands he heard something coming towards him. Looking up, he saw a huge tan wolf sprinting pas the line of houses. Two others lunged after him. They disappeared into the thin forest into the other side of the road.

Matthew shook; his eyes were nearly covered by Ivan's scarf when he shrunk down into it.

The sounds of a brawl soon arouse. Trees shuddered, bushes were crushed, growls and yelps range out in the darkness. Then crackling silence.

Matthew bit his lip. Maybe he had imagined it all. Yeah, he was still delusional. His fever had cooked his brain so much that it was imagining the huge tan wolf limping out of the woods. Its imaginary amaranthine eyes spotted him and the imaginary tongue swept across its black lips hungrily. It was taller than Ivan. Yeah, it had to be all in his head. No one was taller than the Russian!

The black nose came close and fogged up Matthew's glasses. Oh maple… who was he kidding? This killer beast was really real. And really close.

Matthew was frozen. He was so tiny compared to the powerful shouldered wolf snarling in front of him. "I-Ivan?" he squeaked.

The wolf sniffed the tiny being. He was starving but something stopped his jaws from devouring this puny human. His own scent wreathed him. Why? What was this sickly human to him? He couldn't remember. Was this shivering little thing his mate?

Matthew began to back up, putting his hands palm up in front of him. So this wolf- Ivan- wasn't' going to attack. He was far too busy sniffing the Canadian._ Why? Maple! Don't follow me! Oh no… _An irritating tickle came to his red nose. Before he could cover it, the sneeze came out.

Ivan shook his head when the wet spray hit his snout. Matthew freaked out. He could have triggered some violent reaction. The door was out of reach and everyone else's houses were too far to run to. He'd get caught the moment his back turned. The last place was under his house. He ducked and quickly crawled under the trailer. The warmth from using electricity earlier had made the snow soupy and it quickly soaked Matthew's red sweater.

Ivan's nose promptly followed him. The wolf's nears pricked to the sound of Matthew whimpering in fear. Something in his chest ached. Slowly he lied in the snow and made a low mournful sound in his throat.

Matthew looked up from his ball form. Ivan had just _whined_. Maybe Canadian wasn't on the menu. Tentatively, he crawled towards the black nose just outside his hiding place.

The wolf figured since so much of his scent was on the sickly human he had to be important. Someone who was not to be injured. Someone like those two girls from before.

Matthew's head shyly peaked out from under the house. He reached out a careful hand. Ivan licked away the snow from his slender fingers. The blonde felt a small smile form on his lips. He wasn't in danger that was a relief.

Suddenly he shrieked. A paw pulled him close to the wolf's chest. The black nose pressed into his chest and belly, sniffing. Matthew began to giggle. He was ticklish.

"S-stop, Ivan! No!" he pushed at is snout gently and squirmed. "Pl-please!"

A savage growl interrupted the fluffy scene. Berwald's lips were pulled back from his teeth. Matthias stalked out from behind him. _'Get away from him!'_

Ivan snarled. His was his human. No one can take him away. Matthew's fingers tangled in the tick fur around the wolf's neck to help pull himself up. Suddenly his feet were off the ground. Ivan had sprung up.

Matthew let go just as Matthias lunged. Berwald jumped into the fray just moments after. A ball of fur and teeth rolled into the road. The noses woke everybody up.

"Bloody hell!" Arthur grabbed Matthew's wrist. "Are you hurt, lad?"

"N-no."

"Good. Let's get you out of here." The wizard yanked Matthew to his feet. The young blonde yelped as his legs collapsed under him again.

Ivan's head whipped to the sound. His human was hurt! These wolves were keeping him from protecting his human. With renewed energy, Ivan snapped his jaws around the black and red wolf's scruff and threw him against the trees on the other side of the battle field. The blue tinted one snarled at his friend's pained yelp. His teeth made a grab for Ivan's face. Ivan pushed Berwald to the ground with one powerful shove, and then jumped towards Matthew and Arthur.

Arthur wheeled back as a mouthful of sharp teeth shoved itself in is face.

"No, Ivan!" Matthew grabbed the wolf's fur. "Don't hurt him!"

Slowly, the wolf obeyed. He turned towards Matthew. The tense aggressiveness in his amaranthine eyes faded into gentle worry. His nose sniffed the little man again.

"I'm okay, Ivan. Just calm down, eh?"

Ivan's haunches fell to the snow. The wolf was confused. Why was he obeying this human when he knew the last two females far better? The never could control him like this puny man could.

Matthew glanced around. The cirque was crowding around, even the sick ones. Vash, for one, stood in front with his gun though didn't fire it. Ivan growled at the sight of the weapon but Matthew's hand on his snout kept him down.

"Please put that away." Matthew begged.

The harsh blonde hesitantly lowered his rifle.

Berwald shook his fur free of snow. He took one look at the tan wolf and relaxed. Every wolf had one alpha outside the pack. Matthew seemed like that alpha for Ivan, like Tino was for him.

"Su-san!" a tiny weight pressed against his flank. "You okay?"

Berwald licked Tino's feverish face. Out of his peripheral vision he saw Lukas stroking Matthias' head keeping him from getting up and attacking Ivan out of anger.

"Mattie!" Alfred burst forward. "Get away from that monster!"

Ivan growled. Matthew shielded the wolf. "He's not a monster. He's calm now; he won't hurt anyone." The wolf stepped in front of the petite blonde to keep him from his aggressive brother.

"Shoot him." The ringleader growled at the bullet eater.

Vash was hesitant. "He's not doing any harm."

"Right. And who did _that_ to _them_?" Alfred pointed to Matthias and Berwald. Blood clung to their fur. "What's the rule around here?"

Berwald began to growl Tino voiced his partner's thoughts. "Ivan is also hurt. He's suffered his punishment."

Alfred scowled deeper when he saw red stains all over Ivan's tan fur. There was more blood on him than the other two. "He…" he looked at his brother's soaked clothes. "He also roughed up my little bro."

Matthew gasped. He was afraid of what would happen to Ivan. Would he be banished like Raivis? "I-I fell, Alfred. I'm fine."

Seeming to have not heard him, the ring leader stole Vash's gun and aimed. Matthew pushed himself before Ivan and made himself as big a shield as he cold.

The tiger was pulled.

Matthew closed his lavender eyes.

Blood spurted into the air

o0o0o

**Dun-dun-dun!**

**Hometownbar used "Cliff hanger"!**

***cackles evilly in the corner***


	11. Chapter 10

**Okay, okay, I think I've tortured you all enough. Here's the next chapter. **

**It really warms my heart whenever you give me reviews and complements on my writing. And I'm so happy when I see so many RusCan fans! This isn't a very popular or known fan base but I'm glad there are others out there. Thank you for being awesome-er than Prussia. I mean it. Stay beautiful.**

_**WARNING!: GORY INTRO!**_

0o0o0

Ivan was in a black room. Screams of terror and maniacal laughter echoed in the gloom. He couldn't even cover his ears. He was being held tightly by chains in a spread eagle position. A blood splattered floor to ceiling mirror appeared before him. Hand prints slapped onto the reflective glass out of nowhere.

In the mirror was a huge tan furred wolf. Blood dripped from its jaws. At its feet was a bloody body. Golden wavy hair topped the corpse's head, the back was sliced up, and slender legs were torn up undoubtedly by teeth. Without seeing the cadaver's face, Ivan knew it was Matthew.

Ivan screamed wordlessly for long minutes. He rejected the image before him. He'd never hurt the Canadian. Never! The wolf laughed mockingly at him. Its bloody teeth glistened. The mirror shattered. Shards sliced into his exposed flesh. But the wolf and Matthew's lifeless body remained. Ivan's chains released him.

Before he hit the ground, he reached for the prone blonde. His fingers brushed a few kitten soft strands of hair. The wolf's teeth sank into his chest to keep him from going any further and breathing for that matter. Blood spurted from his lips. A sudden pain in his throat caused him to choke and lose even more air. A long glass shard stuck out on both sides of his neck like Frankenstein's monster.

Ivan's eyes opened sluggishly to meet bars (Wasn't his first time waking up to bars). He sighed slightly. It was all a nightmare; a horrible nightmare. His eyes roamed the space around him. He was in the trailer where animals were kept, but there were no animals. In fact, he had the only cage. A blanket had been tossed over him carelessly and the chill of the room sank into his aching bones.

"You finally up?"

Ivan twisted his head around only to choke in pain. His throat felt like it was being torn in two.

"Careful!"

Once most of the agony had dissipated, Ivan laid his amaranthine eyes on a pale skinned, white haired man. "Gilbert?" he croaked, wincing at how rough his voice sounded to his ears.

"Ja, it's me." Gilbert sat just outside the cage with his little bird in his cradled lovingly in his hand. "You know where you are?"

"In a cage…in the animal trailer." His throat felt awful. It felt as if the glass shard had actually pierced him. "What happened?" every word burned.

"Alfred got all 'big brother' and over reacted. He shot you and threw you in here. I'm surprised you can still breathe!"

"Why?"

"Dude! Your neck! The bullet went in one side and out the other! You were bleeding like no tomorrow!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Ivan touched his throat. Thick bandages were wrapped around it. Panic suddenly set in. where was his scarf? Did it get ruined? Did someone take it? No one was to touch it without his permission…oh yeah…Matthew had it. "Is Matvey…okay?"

The albino sighed. "You're not even worried about yourself. …Birdie is fine. He got over his sickness yesterday, too."

"How long have I been out?"

"A few days. I lost count, honestly."

Ivan clenched his eyes shut. He could remember little snippets of the night of the full moon, but nothing much. Seeing Matthias and Berwald for the first time; the trees flashing by; Matthew's smile…if Matthew had smiled then he didn't' hurt him.

"Thirsty?"

"Da." Ivan struggled to sit up. Many of his joints and his stomach were bandaged up. Dull throbs pulsed all over his body as he drank the offered water bottle dry. The injuries must have been from Matthias and Berwald.

Gilbert stood up and went to the door. "I'll go get some more water-" The door opened and three small bodies tumbled in. "What the f-"

"Sorry!" One of the bodies was Lili. Her emerald eyes were wide and scared.

The other two were Michelle, the fish girl, and a little blonde boy with thick eyebrows. The brunette chuckled. "Oops…we got caught."

"Whoa! You look like a zombie!" the blonde boy ran to Ivan's cage. His eyes sparkled and a huge dopey grin spread across his face.

"Peter," Gilbert frowned. "You're supposed to be taking tickets at the gate. What're you doing here?"

"Don't worry, Gil! I got Feliks to fill in for me, Al will never know." Piped the newly dubbed Peter.

"I-I came to c-change Mister B-Braginski's bandages." Lili stammered nervously. "I-I asked Ch-Chelles to help."

"And Peter tagged along." Chelles finished.

Ivan began to cough, blood speckled his lips. He knew from experience that it was a small irritation to the cold air and would open the wound a tiny bit, but it would close up easily. However, Lili didn't know that. She ran to the bars. "W-where're the keys?"

"Here," Gilbert got the keys from a hook and tossed it to the frantic blonde. "Hurry. Alfred doesn't even want _me _here, so don't get caught."

"O-okay,"

The pale man left and the three children entered Ivan's cage. Lili began on his neck. The bandages were bloody when they came off. The blonde bit her lip as she struggled to staunch the sluggish blood flow. Michelle helped her by handing her the needed supplies. Once done, they wrapped a fresh bandage around his neck.

"Whoa…look at all these scars!" Peter gazed wide eyed at Ivan's bare chest. "Where'd you get them?"

"Don't make him talk, Peter!" Michelle scolded. "He needs to rest his throat." She began to change a bandage around his thick upper arm.

"It's okay," Ivan murmured, his ears were a bit red with embarrassment and glee that he was being admired not scorned because of his deformities. "My old job was very dangerous."

"What'd you do?" Peter pressed.

"All kinds of things," the older man grinned cryptically. He knew how to gain the interests of just about anyone. Children were naturally curious and their reactions were always more fun to watch when denied the very information they sought. Ivan wasn't that cruel, he just wanted to tease Peter. Besides a child didn't need to know what he did in his past.

"Like what?"

"Secret~"

The girls pouted along with Peter. They wanted to know just as much as their friend did. Ivan did a good job in making his past sound interesting to them. But they didn't press him for details.

"Are we in Chicago?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah! You should see it!" Peter was practically bouncing. "The buildings are huge! There's smoke, too-"

"The people are nice." Michelle broke in.

"Did you k-know this is not the f-first Chicago?" Lili asked knowingly. "The original burned down years a-ago and they b-built over it."

"The entire city?"

"Y-yes."

"Whoa!"

Ivan smiled at the trio's youth and vigor. They reminded him of his days as a young man when everything was interesting. But at the same time he felt so old compared to them, even if he was only twenty-five.

"Say, didn't Gilbert, Ludwig, Feliciano, and Lovino join the cirque from Chicago?" Michelle asked suddenly.

"I heard they knew each other ever since they were little kids. Gil's and Ludwig's dad is a cop and Feli's and Lovino's dad is in the mafia or something." Peter informed.

Lili sat at Ivan's side against the cold bars. She was absolutely minuscule compared to him. Her head didn't even reach his shoulder. "A-are you c-cold, Mr. B-Braginski?"

"I'll live," Ivan shrugged.

Gilbert came back carrying an armful of water bottles. One for everyone, at least. "The awesomeness is back!"

"Hey, Gil, didn't you used to live here in Chicago?" Peter asked.

"Ja. West and I grew up here. Feli and Lovi, too."

"Knew it!"

"Is Chicago as windy as they say?"

"Of course it is! It's called the 'Windy City' for a reason, you dolt! Boy, West hated it. He always wore a hat 'cause his hair would fly out of its slicked back style." Gilbert laughed. "Kesesese~, he would get so pissed!"

"Speaking of pissed." The occupants froze. A shadow fell over them.

"A-Alfred!" Peter hopped up. "Hey, big bro,"

Alfred's dangerous blue eyes narrowed. "Feliks is taking tickets. That's your job. So I came here on a hunch…it was right."

The younger blonde cringed. "S-sorry, Alfred-"

"Mister Jones to you; I am your ringleader, not your brother right now."

That struck a nerve in Peter. He raced out of the cage to try to hit the tall man. "Family comes first! It doesn't matter if you're my boss! I'll tell Dad!"

Gilbert flew out to catch the boy. His yellow bird circled them, tweeting excitedly. "Easy, Peter!"

Tears streaked the boy's face. "You're a jerk!"

Ivan let out a low growl. "What's wrong with you, Jones? Making a kid cry."

Lili's tiny hand grasped his forearm. "D-don't…you'll get h-hurt again!"

"I'll do whatever I damn please, mutt." Alfred snarled back. "Everyone. Out."

Slowly, Lili left Ivan's arm, and Michelle got up from the floor in front of him. The brunette gave a nasty glare towards the ringleader a she trudged past him. Gilbert and Peter closed the door. And then it was just Alfred and Ivan. Alone.

"I didn't hurt Matvey," Ivan began.

"You could have. Matthias and Berwald are a bandaged up as you are because of you. Mattie could have been worse."

The larger male winced.

"But they don't blame you. Idiots."

That surprised Ivan. But he hid it well. "That so? Then is my punishment over?"

"No."

"You've already shot me in my _neck_, how much more punishment will you deem necessary?" the Russian barked. Eh ignored the horrible agony shooting though his flesh and stood to his full height. "You're just a spoiled brat, Alfred. You take everything for granted-especially the power you hold over the others. Someday, they're going to rise up and _you'll_ be punished."

Alfred narrowed his eyes. Ivan held his gaze. A zap, like static, went off in his head. Ivan recoiled and dropped to his knees. Warmth flowed from his nostrils.

"Let that be a lesson, mutt."

The door slammed and Ivan was plunged into darkness. He licked his chapped lips tasting the blood from his nose.

"You're such an ass!"

Ivan straightened up. That was Matthew's voice.

"Let me in."

"No, _little brother_, he could hurt you."

"He didn't when he was dangerous, now he's all bandaged up and weak. What harm could he possibly do?" Matthew hissed. There was a low growl from an animal and the blonde then said in a mocking tone: "Besides, Kuma will be with me."

There was a long pause.

"Just move." There was a scramble and Matthew burst in with a large white bear. He slammed the door in Alfred's face.

"Matvey," Ivan gripped the pars.

"Ivan!" Matthew rushed in and embraced the injured man. Said man's scarf was fluttering in his wake. "I'm so glad you're up."

"Light…" the bear mumbled and flicked on the lights with his nose.

"It can talk?" the wolf blinked a few times.

Matthew nodded. "This is Kuma…something…he's my favorite bear. I had a polar bear toy when I was young and Arthur thought it would be cool to make it come to life. But instead of a living toy, Kuma became a real bear."

"Who are you?" the large bear settled on the outside of the cage.

"Matthew, the guy who feeds you,"

"Oh,"

Ivan could have laughed if his throat didn't hurt so much. Neither one of them remembered each other's names.

"Who is that?" Kuma asked lazily.

"Ivan," Matthew answered.

"Oh. Hi, I'm Kumajirou."

"Privet, Kumajirou." Ivan smirked at the polar bear.

Matthew gasped. "Your nose!" he took his sleeve and wiped Ivan's upper lip. "Alfred got angry at you, didn't he?"

"Da."

"I'm so sorry…." The blonde bit his lower lip as he leaned back. "I couldn't stop him." His fingers touched Ivan's neck. Tears sprang from his lovely lavender eyes. "I'm sorry!"

Ivan sighed. "Please don't cry, Matvey."

Matthew sniffled. "I-I was so scared. You collapsed and t-there was so much blood…! You were d-dragged away. That was five days ago!"

"I'm okay now, da? Please stop crying. It hurts me to see you cry." Ivan wiped a tear from a smooth flushed cheek and smirked gently. Matthew was adorably red again. His tear wiping turned to caressing.

Matthew responded by stuttering. "S-sorry-"

The bear sluggishly stood up and lumbered into the cage. He settled right on top of his master, making the man shift so he wasn't crushed. Incidentally he was pushed to straddle the larger man's legs.

"A-Ah!" he exclaimed in embarrassment.

Ivan was as surprised as Matthew was. The smaller man's chest was close to his nose. Slender hands were braced on his broad shoulders. He could feel the heat of his blush come off his skin.

"I'm sorry!" Matthew tried to move. Ivan's big hands wrapped around his waist. "I-Ivan?"

Ivan pushed Matthew down so he was sitting on his lap. "I can't turn my head without my neck hurting, and I want to talk to you face to face. This would be easier."

Matthew looked like he was about to explode. "I-I'm not hurting you?"

"Nope. You're too tiny." The Russian beamed.

"O-Okay,"

Kumajirou lazily looked up. His black eyes searched both men. "Just kiss already, I'm too tired to get up again."

"Kuma!" Matthew nearly died of overheating. His face was redder than a tomato. He couldn't kiss Ivan! Not without permission. He really did want to, though. He was curious as to how Ivan tasted. But he needed permission first!

Ivan's cheeks burned, too. _Clever bear. _He glanced to Matthew's lips. They were trembling, pink, and full. There was a tiny scar on his perfectly shaped upper lip that looked like a starburst. He had caught in on something-probably a frozen pole- and ripped the skin. But the starburst scar made Matthew's mouth different from all other mouths. It made him exotic.

Without waiting another beat, Ivan caught Matthew's chin between his forefinger and thumb. Matthew gasped as he was pulled forward. Their lips met and fireworks went off. The little man tasted of maple syrup and, strangely, sweet mint.

When Ivan let Matthew go, the latter was stunned. "T-that was…Maple…"

"Sorry," Ivan averted his eyes. "I-I wasn't think-"

Matthew pulled Ivan into another kiss. He tasted like sunflower seeds and spicy vodka. Funny, because the blonde felt like he was getting drunk off the wolf's flavor. He leaned back again. A scandalous silvery line still connected their mouths.

Ivan blinked out the stars. He smiled at Kumajirou. "Thanks,"

"Don't mention it," Kumajirou replied.


End file.
